Tanila Heikki
A. I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Neulaniementie 2, 70210 Kuopio, Finland.
Behav Brain Res. 2018 Oct 15;352:23-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.05.040. Epub 2017 May 17.
Testing of cognitive functions in rodent disease models constitutes a substantial sector of behavioral neuroscience. It is most often needed in phenotyping genetically modified new rodent (usually mouse) lines or in preclinical testing of cognitive effects of new CNS drugs. This review concerns present pitfalls and future perspectives in this large field, with an emphasis on memory testing in CNS disease models and their preclinical drug testing. It is important to realize that no behavioral test is specific for a single cognitive domain. There are numerous noncognitive factors that may lead to impaired performance in most widely applied memory tasks. It is important to rule these out by applying a battery of test that should include at least tests for motor functions, spontaneous activity and anxiety besides cognitive aspects. In addition, considering and reporting all task-relavant details will help to resolve the common problem that certain behavioral findings cannot be reproduced by other laboratories. More collaboration between molecular and behavioral neuroscience laboratories and systematic training of young neuroscientist on behavioral techniques will help ensure quality of behavioral studies in the future.
在啮齿动物疾病模型中测试认知功能是行为神经科学的一个重要领域。在对基因改造的新啮齿动物（通常是小鼠）品系进行表型分析或对新型中枢神经系统药物的认知作用进行临床前测试时，这一测试最为常用。本综述关注这一广阔领域当前存在的缺陷和未来的前景，重点是中枢神经系统疾病模型中的记忆测试及其临床前药物测试。必须认识到，没有任何一种行为测试是针对单一认知领域的。在大多数广泛应用的记忆任务中，有许多非认知因素可能导致表现受损。通过应用一系列测试来排除这些因素很重要，这些测试除了认知方面外，至少应包括运动功能、自发活动和焦虑测试。此外，考虑并报告所有与任务相关的细节将有助于解决某些行为学发现无法被其他实验室重复的常见问题。分子神经科学实验室和行为神经科学实验室之间加强合作，以及对年轻神经科学家进行行为技术方面的系统培训，将有助于确保未来行为学研究的质量。
