Background
Attentional deficits accompany many psychiatric disorders, underscoring the need for
rodent models of attention to screen novel therapeutic agents and characterize the
biological basis of attention. The five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT)
is one such model. Here, we characterized the effects of four standard psychotropic
agents on performance in the 5CSRTT.
Methods
Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in the 5CSRTT (5-sec inter-trial interval and
.5-sec stimulus duration) until they reliably performed at > 60% accuracy and < 20%
omissions. They were then treated systemically with the stimulant methylphenidate
(MPH) (.063–2.0 mg/kg), the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801) (.008–.25 mg/kg), the norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitor desipramine (DMI) (.63–10 mg/kg), or the κ-receptor agonist U69,593
(.25–2.0 mg/kg) 30 min before testing.
Results
Methylphenidate (.5 mg/kg) increased accuracy. Dizocilpine impaired accuracy (.25
mg/kg), increased premature responses (.063–.25 mg/kg), and increased omissions (.25
mg/kg). Desipramine decreased premature responses (5.0 mg/kg) but increased omissions
(10 mg/kg), correct response latencies (5.0–10.0 mg/kg), and reward latencies (5.0–10.0
mg/kg). The κ-opioid agonist U69,593 (1.0–2.0 mg/kg) increased omissions and correct
response latencies.
Conclusions
In Sprague-Dawley rats, psychotropic drugs with distinct pharmacological profiles
produced distinguishable effects in the 5CSRTT. The effects of these classes of drugs
under our testing conditions are qualitatively similar to their effects in humans.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 09, 2007
Accepted:
November 20,
2006
Received in revised form:
November 3,
2006
Received:
August 16,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
