Assessing the stability of responding of male mice in the touchscreen 5 choice serial reaction time task: Focus on premature responding

Abstract

The five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT) is a test of attention that provides a well-validated ancillary measure of impulsive action, measured by premature responses. The task has been adapted for mice in touchscreen operant boxes, which is thought to offer improved test-retest reliability. Few studies have assessed the long-term stability of performance, including premature responding in this version of the task. We used the touchscreen 5CSRTT to conduct longitudinal testing of stability of premature responding following repeated behavioral and pharmacological manipulations. Male C57BL/6J mice were trained on a baseline version of the 5CSRTT. They were then tested on versions of the task in which the stimulus duration was reduced, and inter-trial intervals were elongated or varied within-session. Premature responding was subsequently tested following administration of pharmacological agents known to bi-directionally affect attention and impulsive action-cocaine, atomoxetine, and yohimbine. Mice were lastly re-tested 6 months later using the 5CSRTT with elongated inter-trial intervals. A reduced stimulus duration impacted attention, with reduced accuracy and increased omissions, but had no effect on premature responding. Both elongating and varying the inter-trial interval within-session increased premature responses. Mice showed similar and stable levels of increased premature responding 6 months later. Cocaine increased premature responding, though less than previously reported in rats. Atomoxetine reduced premature responding. Yohimbine had no effect on premature responding in the baseline task but decreased premature responding when tested using an elongated inter-trial interval. Overall, these results highlight that the touch screen adaptation of the 5CSRTT is an effective method for longitudinal testing of attention and impulsive action and remains sensitive to performance changes arising from repeated pharmacological and behavioral challenges.

Keywords: 5 choice serial reaction time test; attention; impulsivity; long term stability; touchscreen.