The puzzle box as a simple and efficient behavioral test for exploring impairments of general cognition and executive functions in mouse models of schizophrenia

́Abdallah, Nada Ben; Fuß, Johannes; Trusel, Massimo; Galsworthy, Michael J.; Bobsin, Kristin; Colacicco, Giovanni; Deacon, Robert M. J.; Riva, Marco A.; Kellendonk, Christoph; Sprengel, Rolf; Lipp, Hans‐Peter; Gass, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2010.09.008

Cited by 105 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

105

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Further, the method can be adapted to utilize a variety of obstruction materials and conditions. For example, the protocol used here was adapted from previous studies that employed the Puzzle Box to assess cognitive ability in a variety of murine disease state models [5][6][7] . Other studies have previously utilized variations of the Puzzle Box to assess the impact of cognitiveenhancing antipsychotics 33 and observational learning within this testing arena 34 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

O'Connor

Burton

Leamey

et al. 2014

JoVE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Puzzle Box has been used successfully to assess the problem solving ability of mice, as well as cognitive deficits exhibited by murine models of schizophrenia [5][6][7] . Performance on the task has been shown to be highly consistent, and correlate well with outcomes of other cognitive behavioral tests 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

O'Connor

Burton

Leamey

et al. 2014

JoVE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…To assess problem solving capacities and short-term memory (STM), the mice were subjected to the puzzle box (Ben Abdallah et al, 2011;Galsworthy et al, 2005).…”

Section: Executive Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impulsivity, decreased social exploration, and executive dysfunction in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia

Jeugd

Vermaercke

Halliday

et al. 2016

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, a major subset of which is characterized by the accumulation of abnormal forms of the protein tau, leading to impairments in motor functions as well as language and behavioral alterations. Tau58-2/B mice express human tau with the P301S mutation found in familial forms of FTLD in neurons. By assessing three age cohorts of Tau58-2/B mice in a comprehensive behavioral test battery, we found that the tauopathy animals showed age-dependent signs of impulsivity, decreased social exploration and executive dysfunction. The deficit in executive function was first limited to decreased spatial working memory, but with aging this was extended to impaired instrumental short-term memory. Tau pathology was prominent in brain regions underlying these behaviors. Thus, Tau-58-2/B mice recapitulate neurological deficits of the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), presenting them as a suitable model to test therapeutic interventions for the amelioration of this variant.2 Keywords: Behavior; executive function; frontotemporal dementia; frontotemporal lobar degeneration; social exploration; tau Highlights• Tau58-2/B mice present with a tau pathology in cortical areas implicated in bvFTD.• Tau58-2/B mice exhibit motor and sensory gating anomalies at an early age.• With aging the mice show decreased sociability but no altered exploration.• The mice further display increased risk-taking behaviors and executive deficits.• First limited to spatial working memory, it later extends to instrumental memory.

show abstract

“…"Puzzle box" test, described in details by Ben-Abdallah et al [8], is the modified Light-Dark box, in which the route to the dark compartment (goal box) was via an underpass (4 cm wide, 2 cm deep and 15 cm long). This entrance could be blocked by either wood shavings (burrowing puzzle) or by a T-shaped card-board-plastic plug (plug puzzle).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of Laboratory Mice for the High Scores of Logic Task Solutions: The Correlated Changes in Behavior

Perepelkina¹,

Golibrodo²,

Lilp³

et al. 2014

ABB

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Genetically heterogenous mouse population served as the basis for experiment designed to select mice for the high levels of extrapolation ability. Extrapolation task (which belongs to the category of cognitive tasks) was the following: hungry and thirsty mouse was placed in the experimental box facing the cup with milk which could be reached via the small opening in the frontal wall. After several seconds of drinking the food moved behind this wall to the right or to the left and disappeared from animal view. Mouse can find the food only if it moves in the direction of food movement. The direction could be chosen at random or based on animal apprehension of elementary logic of this task. Mice were selected not only for high scores of this task solution but also for lack of anxiety signs during test performance. Extrapolation task scores in selected strain mice were above the chance levels in F9 but non-significantly different from those of control unselected mouse population. The performance of F9 mice in the "puzzle box" cognitive test, based on animal tendency to avoid the brightly lit area in the dark compartment with increasing "difficulty" of reaching this compartment, was measured as mean escape latencies of the respective group. The latencies of mice from selected strain were significantly shorter than those of control animals. This fact is interpreted as the sign that the selection for one cognitive trait (yet still not efficient) resulted in positive changes in the ability to solve another cognitive task. The relationship of cognitive task solutions success and anxiety behavior scores in F9 is discussed.

show abstract

The puzzle box as a simple and efficient behavioral test for exploring impairments of general cognition and executive functions in mouse models of schizophrenia

Cited by 105 publications

References 51 publications

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

Impulsivity, decreased social exploration, and executive dysfunction in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia

Selection of Laboratory Mice for the High Scores of Logic Task Solutions: The Correlated Changes in Behavior

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About