Cognitive flexibility in humans and other laboratory animals

Highgate, Quenten; Schenk, Susan

doi:10.1080/03036758.2020.1784240

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 229 publications

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“…Each of these are outlined in more detail through the review. For a more expansive description of different behavioral tests assessing cognitive flexibility, please see Highgate and Schenk (2021) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Chronic Alcohol on Cognitive Decline: Do Variations in Methodology Impact Study Outcome? An Overview of Research From the Past 5 Years

Charlton

Perry

2022

Front. Neurosci.

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Excessive alcohol use is often associated with accelerated cognitive decline, and extensive research using animal models of human alcohol consumption has been conducted into potential mechanisms for this relationship. Within this literature there is considerable variability in the types of models used. For example, alcohol administration style (voluntary/forced), length and schedule of exposure and abstinence period are often substantially different between studies. In this review, we evaluate recent research into alcohol-induced cognitive decline according to methodology of alcohol access, as well as cognitive behavioral task employed. Our aim was to query whether the nature and severity of deficits observed may be impacted by the schedule and type of alcohol administration. We furthermore examined whether there is any apparent relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and the severity of the deficit, as well as the potential impact of abstinence length, and other factors such as age of administration, and sex of subject. Over the past five years, researchers have overwhelmingly used non-voluntary methods of intake, however deficits are still found where intake is voluntary. Magnitude of intake and type of task seem most closely related to the likelihood of producing a deficit, however even this did not follow a consistent pattern. We highlight the importance of using systematic and clear reporting styles to facilitate consistency across the literature in this regard. We hope that this analysis will provide important insights into how experimental protocols might influence findings, and how different patterns of consumption are more or less likely to produce an addiction-vulnerable cognitive phenotype in animal models.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Chronic Alcohol on Cognitive Decline: Do Variations in Methodology Impact Study Outcome? An Overview of Research From the Past 5 Years

Charlton

Perry

2022

Front. Neurosci.

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“…In order to survive and reproduce, animals need to be able to flexibly adjust their behavior in response to changes in the environment. The ability to perform these adjustments is known as cognitive flexibility ( Highgate and Schenk, 2021 ) and it is considered to be one of the fundamental components of executive functions ( Nyhus and Barceló, 2009 ; Stoet and Snyder, 2009 ; Miyake and Friedman, 2012 ; Diamond, 2013 ; Manrique and Call, 2015 ; Glisky et al, 2021 ). Whether behavioral adjustments are required because an established response has stopped producing the desired outcome (e.g., a monkey that finds no more seeds while browsing through the fallen leaves), or because internal needs have changed (e.g., a monkey feels thirst while foraging), most organisms need to be able to inhibit current behavioral responses (e.g., stop browsing for seeds) so that novel and more appropriate responses can be put in place (e.g., search for a new patch of leaves with potentially more seeds or go to the nearby pond to drink).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing cognitive flexibility in humans and rhesus macaques with visual motion and neutral distractors

et al. 2022

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IntroductionCognitive flexibility is the ability of an individual to make behavioral adjustments in response to internal and/or external changes. While it has been reported in a wide variety of species, established paradigms to assess cognitive flexibility vary between humans and non-human animals, making systematic comparisons difficult to interpret.MethodsWe developed a computer-based paradigm to assess cognitive flexibility in humans and non-human primates. Our paradigm (1) uses a classical reversal learning structure in combination with a set-shifting approach (4 stimuli and 3 rules) to assess flexibility at various levels; (2) it employs the use of motion as one of three possible contextual rules; (3) it comprises elements that allow a foraging-like and random interaction, i.e., instances where the animals operate the task without following a strategy, to potentially minimize frustration in favor of a more positive engagement.Results and DiscussionWe show that motion can be used as a feature dimension (in addition to commonly used shape and color) to assess cognitive flexibility. Due to the way motion is processed in the primate brain, we argue that this dimension is an ideal candidate in situations where a non-binary rule set is needed and where participants might not be able to fully grasp other visual information of the stimulus (e.g., quantity in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). All participants in our experiment flexibly shifted to and from motion-based rules as well as color- and shape-based rules, but did so with different proficiencies. Overall, we believe that with such approach it is possible to better characterize the evolution of cognitive flexibility in primates, as well as to develop more efficient tools to diagnose and treat various executive function deficits.

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“…These separate aspects of cognitive flexibility require an organism to have a representation of a goal (rule generation), maintenance of behaviour to achieve that goal (rule selection), and the ability to disengage from a previous set of actions when encountering changing environmental contingencies (14). Cognitive flexibility impairments within psychiatric disorders can be characterised by behaviours that are highly resistant to change and result in maintaining (perseverating) a maladaptive behaviour (15). Such maladaptive behaviours arise when there is a failure to modulate response selection when required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cognitive flexibility in humans and other laboratory animals

Cited by 6 publications

References 229 publications

The Effect of Chronic Alcohol on Cognitive Decline: Do Variations in Methodology Impact Study Outcome? An Overview of Research From the Past 5 Years

The Effect of Chronic Alcohol on Cognitive Decline: Do Variations in Methodology Impact Study Outcome? An Overview of Research From the Past 5 Years

Assessing cognitive flexibility in humans and rhesus macaques with visual motion and neutral distractors

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