Assessment of Problem‐Solving Skills and Inhibitory Control in Mice Using Water Escape Detour Test

Abstract

Despite the importance of emotional intelligence, its biological mechanism is still not well understood. For this reason, we have developed a rodent detour task which requires an animal to reach a highly desired object placed directly behind a transparent barrier that blocks the direct route to the target. This apparently simple task is highly dependent on the emotional control that is necessary to inhibit prepotent and counterproductive responses driven by the sight of a desired object. The water escape detour task designed for mice enables testing the ability to solve emotionally challenging problems, as well as identification of an impairment termed perseveration. Such a maladaptive reaction to a challenging situation is characterized by difficulty in terminating an unsuccessful response, leading to persistent repetition of inappropriate behavior. This issue is important because perseveration is associated with schizophrenia, drug abuse, and aging. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Water escape detour task Support Protocol 1: Preparation of escape platform Support Protocol 2: Preparation of the transparent barrier Alternate Protocol: Water escape detour task for testing acute effects

Smarter in the city? Lizards from urban and semi-natural habitats do not differ in a cognitive task in two syntopic species

“…To this end, we used the detour task (previously validated in lizards; Szabo, Noble, et al 2019 ; Storks and Leal 2020 ), in which we confronted wild caught Italian wall lizards and common wall lizards with a transparent barrier separating individuals from a desired goal (i.e., the familiar area). To reach this goal an individual has to control their impulse to keep going straight, and detour the transparent obstacle to the side (e.g., Kabadayi et al 2016 ; Juszczak and Bobrowska 2020 ). We expected to find differences in motor response inhibition across urban and non-urban habitats in both P. siculu s and P. muralis lizards.…”