An open-source automated rodent paradigm for forelimb movement in motor control, executive functions, and learning studies Article Swipe
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· 2025
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42402
Reaching tasks are frequently employed in studies investigating cognitive functions, motor control, and brain-computer interfaces. The center-out task, a subtype of reaching movement, is widely utilized in research and previous studies have shown that rats can effectively learn to perform this task. However, the labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of training rats in such tasks has posed limitations on rodent studies in this domain. This paper introduces an Automated Rodent Center-Out Task (ARCOT) paradigm designed for training rats in the center-out task across all directions, enabling efficient experimentation. The system provides customizability and extensibility, rendering it a suitable and cost-effective solution for diverse experiments related to forelimb movement, executive functions, and learning studies. We explored three training strategies and assessed their effectiveness. Results indicate that a resuming paradigm is effective in training rodents for tasks of varying difficulty.
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- Type
- article
- Language
- en
- Landing Page
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42402
- OA Status
- gold
- References
- 58
- Related Works
- 10
- OpenAlex ID
- https://openalex.org/W4407635917