Research Symposium

BIO

Hi, my name is Maili Odom. I am Biology major, and a Criminology minor on a Pre-med track. Conducting research has been a very fun and fulfilling experience for me. I am super interested in the field of psychology, memory, and any to take part in experiences to help me grow personally and in my future profession as a Physician. I have loved gaining knowledge and hands-on experience in the setup and conduction of an experiment.

Developing an Experimental Test to Determine Cognitive Flexibility in Rats in a Reward Motivated Task

Abstract

The principle of this experiment was to form a new method and experimental test to study cognitive flexibility, memory, and recognition in rats for a reward motivated task. This can be used as a pathway for further analysis and data on memory and cognition in the brain. With this being a new experiment, there was much trial-and-error involved through the setup and execution.
The experiment was started through designing and implementing a microcontroller system. This was done using an Arduino software, which was coded and placed to control the switches, feeders, and LEDs in the experimental arena. LEDs were used to indicate a certain area in the arena corresponding to specific corners where stepper motors were placed to give reward in the form of a sugar pellet to the rat. Everything was soldered, coded, and designed to be controlled by switches and buttons. Once this initial set up was complete the testing could be conducted.
Through group testing on two pilot rats, the cognitive shaping, training, flexibility, and training tasks were performed on the rats. Once this was complete, it is hypothesized that through this task the rats were able to complete and learn the correct corners associated with reward, so they are capable of cognitive flexibility for a reward motivated task.

Keywords: Behavior, Cognitive Flexibility, Rats,