Rat Auditory Delayed Discrimination Task Dataset

This dataset contains behavioral data from an experiment with rats. This is a summary of the experiment: We developed a computerized protocol to train rats, in high-throughput facilities, to perform an auditory delayed comparison task. All training takes place in three-port operant conditioning chambers, in which ports are arranged side-by-side along one wall, with two speakers placed above the left and right nose ports. A visible light-emitting diode in the centre port signals the availability of each trial. Rat subjects initiate a trial by inserting their nose into the center port, which causes the center light to turn off. Rats must keep their nose in the centre port (fixation period) until an auditory go cue (a 6-kHz pure tone for 200 ms) signals the end of fixation. Only after the go cue can subjects withdraw and orient to one of the side ports to receive a reward of water. During the fixation period two auditory stimuli, sa and sb, separated by a variable delay, are played for 400 ms, with short delay periods of 250 ms inserted before sa and after sb. Rats should judge which out of the two stimuli, sa and sb, had the greater SPL standard deviation. If sa > sb, the correct action is to poke the nose into the right-hand nose port to collect the reward, and if sa < sb, rats should orient to the left-hand nose port. Trial durations are independently varied on a trial-by-trial basis, by varying the delay interval between the two stimuli, which can be as short as 2 s or as long as 12 s. The delay between the two stimuli is varied on a trial-by-trial basis, which makes the task more challenging and requires the rats to maintain their attention and memory over longer periods. Rats progressed through a series of shaping stages before the final version of the delayed comparison task, in which they learned to: associate light in the center poke with the availability of trials; associate special sounds from the side pokes with reward; maintain their nose in the center poke until they hear an auditory go signal; and compare the two sa and sb stimuli.stages descriptions:

There are six stages involved in the training process, each of which builds on the previous stage and introduces new aspects of the task. In stage 1, rats learn to associate the lights on either side with the availability of trials and poke into the lightened side poke to get a reward.

In stage 2, rats learn to initiate a trial by poking their nose into the center port and waiting for a go cue sound to signal the end of the fixation period. They can then withdraw and orient to one of the side ports to receive a reward.

In stage 3, the fixation period is gradually increased in duration over successive trials. This is designed to increase the rats ability to maintain their attention and focus during the task.

in the dataset, only the three first stages’ data is included. 

. then a go cue sound plays. that means that rat can