阅读说明：本技术 一种用于啮齿类动物工作记忆容量训练及测试的装置及方法 (Device and method for training and testing working memory capacity of rodent ) 是由 于欣 黄庚娣 王华丽 张晨 于 2020-07-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种用于啮齿类动物工作记忆容量训练及测试的装置及方法。该装置包括NMSS训练箱和NMMS训练及测试平台；NMSS训练箱内通过隔板分为sample区a和choice区a,隔板上设有自由开关的门；NMMS训练及测试平台系统包括sample区b、等待区、choice区b；sample区b箱体内通过隔板分成U型通道,U型通道的一端的箱体侧壁开口,另一端的箱体侧壁与choice区b通过等待区连接,且sample区b与等待区之间连接的箱体壁设有入口门,等待区与choice区b之间连接的箱体壁设有出口门；sample区a和sample区b内均设置至少一个设有带孔盒盖的盒子,choice区a和choice区b内均设置至少两个无盖的盒子。本发明装置简单,能有效对啮齿类动物进行工作记忆容量训练及测试。本发明方法基于非匹配原则的NMSS和NMMS规则学习,简单准确。(The invention discloses a device and a method for training and testing working memory capacity of rodents. The device comprises an NMSS training box and an NMMS training and testing platform; the NMSS training box is divided into a sample area a and a choice area a through a partition plate, and a door capable of being opened and closed freely is arranged on the partition plate; the NMMS training and testing platform system comprises a sample area b, a waiting area and a choice area b; the box body of the sample area b is divided into U-shaped channels through a partition plate, the side wall of the box body at one end of each U-shaped channel is open, the side wall of the box body at the other end of each U-shaped channel is connected with the choice area b through a waiting area, the wall of the box body connected between the sample area b and the waiting area is provided with an inlet door, and the wall of the box body connected between the waiting area b and the choice area b is provided with an outlet door; at least one box with a box cover with holes is arranged in each of the sample area a and the sample area b, and at least two uncovered boxes are arranged in each of the choice area a and the choice area b. The device is simple, and can effectively train and test the working memory capacity of the rodent. The method is based on NMSS and NMMS rule learning of a non-matching principle, and is simple and accurate.)

1. A device for training and testing the working memory capacity of rodents, which is characterized in that: the device comprises an NMSS training box and an NMMS training and testing platform;

the NMSS training box is a uncovered box body, the inside of the NMSS training box is divided into a sample area a and a choice area a through a partition plate, and a door capable of being opened and closed freely is arranged on the partition plate;

the NMMS training and testing platform comprises a sample area b, a waiting area and a choice area b; the sample area b and the waiting area are both arranged in a cover-free box body, and the choice area b is a platform; the box body of the sample area b is divided into U-shaped channels through partition plates, the side wall of the box body at one end of each U-shaped channel is open, the side wall of the box body at the other end of each U-shaped channel is connected with the choice area b through the waiting area, the wall of the box body connected between the sample area b and the waiting area is provided with an inlet door, and the wall of the box body connected between the waiting area b and the choice area b is provided with an outlet door;

at least one box with a box cover with holes is arranged in each of the sample area a and the sample area b, and at least two uncovered boxes are arranged in each of the choice area a and the choice area b.

2. The apparatus for rodent working memory capacity training and testing of claim 1, wherein: the box is filled with odorless sawdust and is embedded with food reward pills and/or is filled with contents with odor;

the boxes in the box body of the sample area b are sequentially arranged along the entrance door to the opening direction;

the box locations set in the platform of the choice area b are random.

3. The apparatus for rodent working memory capacity training and testing of claim 1 or 2, wherein: 1 box is arranged in the sample area a, and 2 boxes are arranged in the choice area a;

1-5 boxes are arranged in the sample area b; the choice area b is provided with 2-6 boxes, and the number of the choice area b is 1 more than that of the boxes in the sample area b.

4. The device for rodent working memory capacity training and testing of any one of claims 1-3, wherein: the platform of the choice area b is at least one of a square, a circle, a rectangle, an ellipse and an isosceles trapezoid;

the inlet door and the outlet door are arranged on the opposite box body wall of the sample area;

the box body of the waiting area is at least one of square, rectangle and circle.

5. The device for rodent working memory capacity training and testing of any one of claims 2-4, wherein: the content with odor comprises the following components in parts by mass:

5-10 parts of wood dust powder;

1 part of food powder;

0.1-1 part of odor perfume;

the flavor spice specifically comprises at least one of dill, cinnamon, capsicum, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach;

the food reward pill is at least one of cheese granules, sugar granules and feed granules, and the mass of the food reward pill is 0.05 g-0.1 g.

6. A method for performing rodent behavior training and testing using the device for rodent working memory capacity training and testing of any one of claims 1-5, comprising the steps of: (1) placing a rodent in the sample area a of the NMSS training box, and then opening a door in the NMSS training box to allow the rodent to freely move in the sample area a and the choice area a for environmental adaptation;

(2) taking out the rodent subjected to the environmental adaptation in the step (1), and carrying out food restriction treatment on the rodent; placing the box in the choice area a, the box containing odorless wood chips and embedded with food reward pills, opening a door in the NMSS training box, and then placing the rodent in the sample area a to allow the rodent to freely move to find the food reward pills and eat;

(3) NMSS training learning phase: placing a box with the same sample smell in each of the sample area a and the choice area a, placing a box with a choice smell different from the sample smell in the choice area a, and embedding a food reward pill; placing the rodent treated in the step (2) in the sample area a, after the rodent touches a box cover round hole of the sample smell box with a nose tip, opening a door in the NMSS training box, enabling the rodent to enter the choice area a for selection, establishing learning that food rewards can be obtained only when the rodent selects a box with different smell from that in the sample area a, and performing smell distinguishing training to enable the rodent to master a principle of learning a non-matching single sample;

(4) NMMS training and learning stage: the rodent after the NMSS training learning stage in the step (3) enters the NMMS training and testing platform system to learn a non-matching multi-sample rule, the sample area b and the choice area b are respectively provided with a same box with sample odor, and the choice area b is also provided with a box serving as the choice odor; letting the rodent enter the sample area b, after smelling all the sample odors, opening an entrance door of the waiting area, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, opening an exit door, and making the rodent enter the choice area b, training the rodent to find a box with choice odors different from the odors in the sample area b, and enabling the rodent to master a non-matching multi-sample principle;

(5) testing the working memory capacity: and (3) training the rodent in the learning stage trained by the NMMS in the step (4) according to the same rule as the step (4) by increasing the number of the sample odors, and terminating the test when the rodent selects the sample odors twice in the choice region b, so that the working memory capacity of the rodent is the number of the sample odors for completing the corresponding experiment, namely the number of odors which the rodent can remember, namely the size of the working memory capacity.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein: the rodent is a mouse or a rat; the food reward pill is 0.05g to 0.1g in mass;

in the step (3), the box with sample smell in the sample area a is a box filled with a content with smell, wherein the contained smell spice is any one of dill, cinnamon, hot pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five-spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach;

the box with the choice smell is a box filled with contents with smell, wherein the contained smell spice is any one of dill, cinnamon, hot pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: step (3), setting 10 odor combinations selected from the following odor settings in the box placed in the sample area a and the choice area a: randomly pairing 20 different said scent fragrances into 10 combinations, one as a sample scent and one as a choice scent in each combination;

in the step (3), the smell distinguishing training process is as follows: when the rodent is in the choice zone a, first reaches the box with sample scent and reacts: according to the theory of signal detection theory, if the rodent directly uses the nose or the forepaw to search for food in the wood chips of the box with sample smell, the food reaction is recorded as False reaction, meanwhile, the rodent is taken out, the smell box of the choice area a is randomly replaced, and the experiment is started from the beginning; if the rodent does not directly search for food in the box with sample smell by using the nose or the forepaw and turns to the box with choice smell to search for food, the reaction is recorded as Correct reject reaction, and after the rodent finds and eats the food, the rodent is taken out to perform the next group of smell combination experiment; when the rodent is in the choice zone a, first reaches the choice scent box and reacts: (ii) scoring a Hit response if the rodent seeks food directly with the nose or forepaw in the wood chips of the box with choice odor; if the rodent does not directly search for food in the choice odor box by using the nose or the forepaw and turns to the box with the sample odor to search for food, the reaction is recorded as the Miss reaction; training at least 10 times per day, including training of the 10 odor combinations, continuously for 8 days; if the rodent accuracy rate reaches at least 80%, the rodent can complete NMSS training learning;

wherein the accuracy (%) is (correct reject reaction number + hit reaction number)/(correct reject reaction number + hit reaction number + false reaction number + miss reaction number) × 100.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein: in the step (4), the odor settings in the boxes placed in the sample area b and the choice area b are selected from the following steps: randomly pairing 20 different odor perfumes into 5 combinations, starting from training of randomly taking 1 odor perfume as the sample odor, and increasing in an arithmetic progression according to a tolerance of 1 until training of randomly taking 5 different odor perfumes as the sample odor is completed, wherein each combination has a choice odor;

the rodent stays in the waiting area for 3-8 s;

the process by which the training rodent finds the choice scent-bearing box within the choice zone b is as follows: the rodent enters the sample area b, after smelling all the sample odor, the entrance door of the waiting area is opened, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, the exit door is opened, and the rodent enters the choice area b to select the odor; if the rodent directly uses the nose or forepaw to search for food in the box wood chip with sample smell, immediately taking the rodent out of the choice area b, randomly changing all smell positions of the choice area b, and repeating the training; if the rodent finds food in the choice zone b with the choice odor box, the rodent returns to the squirrel cage after eating the food and waits for the next set of odor training; starting from training of randomly taking 1 odor perfume as the sample odor, increasing the number of the equal difference according to the tolerance of 1 until training of randomly taking 5 different odor perfumes as the sample odor is completed; training is continuously carried out for 4 days, and when the rodent can continuously finish the difficulty of 2 sample smells for 2 days, the working memory capacity test can be carried out.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6-9, wherein: in the step (5), the testing time is 3-5 days after continuous testing;

in step (5), the procedure for training the rodent to find the choice scent box is as follows: the rodent enters the sample area b, after smelling all the sample smell, the entrance door of the waiting area is opened, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, the exit door is opened, and the rodent enters the choice area b to select the smell; if the rodent directly uses the nose or the forepaw to search for food in the sawdust of the sample odor box, immediately taking the rodent out of the choice area b, randomly changing all odor positions of the choice area b, and repeating the training; and if the rodent finds food in the choice zone b by the box with the choice odor, after the rodent eats the food, putting the rodent back to the squirrel cage, waiting for the next group of odor training until 2 times of mistakes are made continuously, and stopping testing to obtain the working memory capacity of the rodent.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a device and a method for training and testing working memory capacity of rodents, and belongs to the field of animal behaviourology.

Background

Animal behavior experiments become an indispensable important means for studying higher functions of the brain, and play an important role in the fields of neurobiology, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology and the like. Since neuropsychiatric diseases have complexity and generate the most complex advanced mental activities related to the brain, animal behavior experimental methods are exploring and researching the essence of complex life phenomena such as cognition, emotion and movement. Currently, animal behavioral experiments are the main methods and means of neuropsychiatric disease research, and behavioral data are the cornerstones of neuropsychiatric drug discovery and development.

The past study and memory research is mainly based on behavioral paradigm of visual and auditory stimuli, but the study and memory study is far from sufficient for comprehensively understanding the high-level functions of the brain and exploring the neuroscience mechanism of the study and memory, and the sense of smell is one of the most sensitive senses of rodents, so that the study and memory method is very important for the survival of the rodents in the environment, not only utilizes the sense of smell to search food, but also can utilize the sense of smell to avoid danger. Currently, the detection of memory capacity in rodents mainly involves the eight-armed maze and the odor-breadth task based on olfactory stimuli. Practical application shows that the eight-arm maze is used for detecting the memory capacity of rodents, and because the number of arms is limited, the measurement parameters mainly include the number of errors entering the repeated arms, obvious ceiling effect exists, and the exact memory capacity cannot be obtained. At present, the odor breadth task is trained by using a non-matching principle for animal learning, and because the number of experimental odors designed by the task is increased one by one based on the odor of the previous experiment, the odor can be presented repeatedly, and repeated memory and strengthened memory exist, which are not consistent with the definition of working memory, and the research shows that the odor breadth task also has an obvious ceiling effect. In addition, the learning process and the testing process are not distinguished in the past behavior paradigm, and the learning process is also the testing process, so that the influence of the learning strategy in the memory capacity test is mixed up.

The working memory is the capacity of maintaining and processing information temporarily, and is the main content of higher cognitive functions, but the working memory capacity is very limited, and only a few items can be maintained at the same time for a few seconds, which is one of the most central limiting factors of cognitive functions. The theory of Magic 7 proposed by Miller is to draw the conclusion that the working memory capacity of human is 7 +/-2 through the instant memory task, the theory of neuropsychology is further developed, and the reason why the memory capacity is limited and how to improve the memory capacity are always the hot points of research. In addition, cognitive function and working memory decline with age, and many psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, and degenerative disorders, are closely related.

Working memory is involved in many advanced cognitive activities and memory capacity can predict the level of various cognitive abilities, including reading comprehension, writing skills, academic achievements, reasoning abilities, and general intelligence. Therefore, the working memory capacity is an important parameter for embodying the cognitive ability, and a reasonable and effective detection method can indicate the individual ability and has guiding significance for diagnosis and treatment of diseases, so that a new mode for detecting and researching the memory capacity is provided by establishing a behavioral paradigm of olfactory working memory capacity of rodents, a mechanism that the olfactory working memory capacity is limited and damaged is researched, and more theoretical bases are provided for brain plasticity of cognitive functions. Therefore, there is a need in the art to develop methods and devices for effectively measuring the working memory capacity of rodents.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a device and a method for training and testing the working memory capacity of rodents.

The invention provides a device for training and testing the working memory capacity of rodents, which comprises an NMSS training box and an NMMS training and testing platform;

the NMSS training box is a uncovered box body, the inside of the NMSS training box is divided into a sample area a and a choice area a through a partition plate, and a door capable of being freely opened and closed is arranged on the partition plate, so that rodents can freely enter and exit the sample area a and the choice area a;

the NMMS training and testing platform system comprises a sample area b, a waiting area and a choice area b; the sample area b and the waiting area are both arranged in a cover-free box body, and the choice area b is a platform; the box body of the sample area b is divided into U-shaped channels through partition plates, the side wall of the box body at one end of each U-shaped channel is open, the side wall of the box body at the other end of each U-shaped channel is connected with the choice area b through the waiting area, the wall of the box body connected between the sample area b and the waiting area is provided with an inlet door, and the wall of the box body connected between the waiting area b and the choice area b is provided with an outlet door;

at least one box with a box cover with holes is arranged in each of the sample area a and the sample area b, and at least two uncovered boxes are arranged in each of the choice area a and the choice area b.

In the invention, the NMSS training is entirely called nonmatching to single sample odor, and the Chinese name is non-matching single sample odor training;

the NMMS training is entirely called nonmatching to multiple sample odors in English, and the Chinese name is non-matching multi-sample odor training.

In the invention, at least one box with a box cover with holes is arranged in each of the sample area a and the sample area b, so that rodents can smell the odor by touching the nose, and the boxes of the choice area a and the choice area b are uncovered, so that the rodents can freely explore the odor box in the choice area and dig the food in the sawdust of the target odor box.

The rodent to which the device of the invention is applied is a mouse or rat, preferably a mouse.

In the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, odorless sawdust is filled in the box, and a food reward pill is embedded in the odorless sawdust and/or a content with odor is filled in the box; specifically, the box is filled with odorless wood chips and embedded with food reward pills, or the box is filled with contents with odor and filled with odorless wood chips.

In the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, the boxes in the box body of the sample area b are sequentially arranged along the entrance door to the opening direction;

the box locations set in the platform of the choice area b are random.

In the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, 1 box is arranged in the sample area a, and 2 boxes are arranged in the choice area a; when the fragrance box is used, the choice area a is provided with boxes with the same number of smells as the sample area a, and the box with the more choice area a is a box with different smells;

1-5 boxes are arranged in the sample area b; the choice area b is provided with 2-6 boxes, and the number of the choice area b is 1 more than that of the boxes in the sample area b; when the fragrance box is used, the choice area b is provided with boxes with the same number of smells as the sample area b, and the box which is more than the choice area b is a box with different smells; specifically, 5 boxes are arranged in the sample area b; the choice area b is provided with 6 boxes.

In the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, the platform of the choice area b is at least one of square, round, rectangular, oval and trapezoidal;

the entrance door and the exit door are arranged on the opposite box body wall of the sample area, so that the work memory time delay effect can be conveniently researched;

the box body of the waiting area is at least one of square, rectangular and round; the size of which is designed according to the rodent in which it is used; specifically, for a mouse, the bottom surface of the box body of the waiting area is square, the side length of the box body is 10 cm-20 cm, the bottom surface of the box body of the waiting area is rectangular, and the length of the box body is as follows: 15-20 cm, width: the bottom surface of the box body of the waiting area of 10 cm-15 cm is circular, and the radius is 5 cm-10 cm, so that the time of the mouse staying in the waiting area is 5s, and the memory delay effect is achieved.

In the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, the content with smell comprises the following components in parts by mass:

5-10 parts of wood dust powder;

1 part of food powder;

0.1-1 part of odor perfume.

In the above device for training and testing working memory capacity of rodent, the scent spice specifically comprises at least one of dill, cinnamon, pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach; the flavor spices are more specifically 20, including dill, cinnamon, pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach;

the food reward pill is at least one of cheese granules, sugar granules and feed granules, and the mass of the food reward pill is 0.05 g-0.1 g.

In the invention, the content with odor is composed of the following components in parts by mass: 7 parts of wood dust powder; 1 part of food powder; 0.5 part of odor perfume.

The invention also provides a method for training and testing rodent behaviors by adopting the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of the rodent, which comprises the following steps:

(1) placing a rodent in the sample area a of the NMSS training box, and then opening a door in the NMSS training box to allow the rodent to freely move in the sample area a and the choice area a for environmental adaptation;

(2) taking out the rodent subjected to the environmental adaptation in the step (1), and carrying out food restriction treatment on the rodent; placing the box in the choice area a, wherein odorless sawdust is filled in the box and a food reward pill is embedded in the box, opening a door in the NMSS training box, and then placing the rodent in the sample area a to enable the rodent to freely move for finding the food reward pill and eat the rodent, so that the rodent learns to find excavated food;

(3) NMSS training learning phase: placing a box with the same sample smell in each of the sample area a and the choice area a, placing a choice smell box with a different sample smell in the choice area a, and embedding a food reward pill; placing the rodent treated in the step (2) in the sample area a, after the rodent touches a box cover round hole of the sample smell box with a nose tip, opening a door in the NMSS training box, enabling the rodent to enter the choice area a for selection, establishing learning that food rewards can be obtained only when the rodent selects a box with different smell from that in the sample area a, and performing smell distinguishing training to enable the rodent to master a principle of learning a non-matching single sample;

(4) NMMS training and learning stage: the rodent after the NMSS training learning stage in the step (3) enters the NMMS training and testing platform system to learn a non-matching multi-sample rule, the sample area b and the choice area b are respectively provided with a same box with sample smell, and the choice area b is also provided with a box serving as the choice smell; letting the rodent enter the sample area b, after smelling all the sample odor, opening an entrance door of the waiting area, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, opening the exit door, and making the rodent enter the choice area b, training the rodent to find a box with choice odor with different odor from that in the sample area b, and leading the rodent to master a non-matching multi-sample principle;

(5) testing the working memory capacity: and (3) training the rodent in the learning stage trained by the NMMS in the step (4) by increasing the amount of the sample odor according to the same rule as that in the step (4), and terminating the test when the rodent selects the sample odor twice in the choice region b, so that the working memory capacity of the rodent is the number of sample odors for completing corresponding experiments, namely the number of odors which can be remembered by the rodent, namely the size of the working memory capacity.

In the present invention, in step 1), the environmental adaptation does not require feeding, i.e., rodents (e.g., mice) are made familiar with the training environment.

In the above method, the rodent is a mouse or a rat, preferably a mouse.

In the above method, the food reward pill has a mass of 0.05g to 0.1g, and may specifically be 0.05 g.

In the above method, in the step (3), the box having a sample smell in the sample area a is a box containing a content having a smell, wherein the contained smell spice is any one of dill, cinnamon, pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach;

the box with the choicee smell in the choicee area a is a box filled with contents with smell, wherein the contained smell spice is any one of dill, cinnamon, hot pepper, thyme, onion, rosemary, cumin powder, five spice powder, clove, almond, mint, matcha, basil, curry, ginger, caraway, coffee, celery, white pepper and spinach.

In the above method, in step (3), the odor settings in the box placed in the sample area a and the choice area a are selected from the following 10 combinations: randomly pairing 20 different said scent fragrances into 10 combinations, one as a sample scent and one as a choice scent in each combination;

in the step (3), the smell distinguishing training process is as follows: when the rodent is in the choice zone a, first reaches the box with sample scent and reacts: according to the theory of signal detection theory, if the rodent directly uses the nose or the forepaw to search for food in the wood chips of the box with sample smell, the food is recorded as a False reaction, meanwhile, the rodent is taken out, the position of the smell box in the choice area a is randomly changed, and the experiment is restarted; if the rodent does not directly search for food in the box with the sample smell by using the nose or the forepaw and turns to the box with the choice smell to search for food, recording the reaction as Correct reject, taking out the rodent after the rodent finds and eats the food, and performing the next group of smell combination experiment; when a rodent is in the choice zone a, first reaches the choice scent box and reacts: (ii) scoring a Hit response if the rodent seeks food directly with the nose or forepaw in the wood chips of the box with choice odor; if the rodent does not directly search for food in the choice odor box by using the nose or the forepaw and turns to the box with the sample odor to search for food, the reaction is recorded as the Miss reaction; performing the training at least 10 times per day, and continuously performing the training comprising the 10 odor combinations for 8 days; if the accuracy of the rodent reaches at least 80%, the rodent can finish NMSS training learning, the non-matching principle is mastered, and the rodent further guides selection by remembering sample odor stimulation information;

wherein the accuracy (%) is (correct reject reaction number + hit reaction number)/(correct reject reaction number + hit reaction number + false reaction number + miss reaction number) × 100.

In the above method, in step (4), the odor settings in the box placed in the sample area b and the choice area b are selected from the following: randomly pairing 20 different odor perfumes into 5 combinations, starting from training of randomly taking 1 odor perfume as the sample odor, and increasing in an arithmetic progression according to a tolerance of 1 until training of randomly taking 5 different odor perfumes as the sample odor is completed, wherein each combination has a choice odor;

the rodent stays in the waiting area for 3-8 s, preferably 5 s;

the process of training the rodent to find the choice scent-bearing box within the choice zone b is as follows: the rodent enters the sample area b, after smelling all the sample odor, the entrance door of the waiting area is opened, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, the exit door is opened, and the rodent enters the choice area b to select the odor; if the rodent directly uses the nose or forepaw to search for food in the box wood chip with sample smell, immediately taking the rodent out of the choice area b, randomly changing all smell positions of the choice area b, and repeating the training; if the rodent finds food in the choice zone b with the choice odor box, the rodent returns to the squirrel cage after eating the food and waits for the next set of odor training; starting from training of randomly taking 1 odor perfume as the sample odor, increasing the number of the equal difference according to the tolerance of 1 until training of randomly taking 5 different odor perfumes as the sample odor is completed; training is continuously carried out for 4 days, and when the rodent can continuously finish the difficulty of 2 sample smells for 2 days, the working memory capacity test can be carried out.

In the method, in the step (5), the testing time is 3-5 days, specifically 3 days;

in step (5), the procedure for training the rodent to find the choice scent box is as follows: the rodent enters the sample area b, after smelling all the sample odor, the entrance door of the waiting area is opened, after the rodent stays in the waiting area, the exit door is opened, and the rodent enters the choice area b to select the odor; if the rodent directly uses the nose or forepaw to search for food in the box wood chip with sample smell, immediately taking the rodent out of the choice area b, randomly changing all smell positions of the choice area b, and repeating the training; and if the rodent finds food in the choice zone b by the box with the choice odor, after the rodent eats the food, putting the box back to the mouse cage, waiting for the next group of odor training until 2 times of continuous mistakes are made, not correctly finding the choice odor box, and stopping testing to obtain the working memory capacity of the rodent.

The invention has the following advantages:

the device is simple, and can effectively train and test the working memory capacity of the rodent (such as a mouse). The method is based on NMSS and NMMS rule learning of a non-matching principle, and is simple and accurate. The device and the method of the invention well simulate the working memory processing process of human beings, not only can effectively detect the working memory capacity of rodents, have stable test results and avoid the ceiling effect of testing the working memory capacity by the traditional eight-arm maze, odor breadth task and other methods, but also provide a time effect method for researching the working memory maintenance process and an effective tool for researching different working memory components.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an NMSS training box in the device for training and testing the working memory capacity of rodents according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of an NMMS training and testing platform in the device for training and testing working memory capacity of rodents according to the invention.

The respective labels in FIGS. 1-2 are as follows:

1 a box with a box cover with holes; 2 a case without a lid; 3 a door which can be freely opened and closed; 4 an entrance door; 5 an exit door.

FIG. 3 shows the results of C57 mice tested in the experiment after the method of the present invention was trained by NMSS training; wherein FIG. 3(a) shows the result of the accuracy, FIG. 3(b) shows the result of the memory capacity, and FIG. 3(c) shows the result of the size of the working memory capacity in the test.

FIG. 4 shows the results of testing 5 × FAD mice in an experiment after training by NMMS training method according to the present invention; wherein FIG. 4(a) shows the result of the accuracy, FIG. 4(b) shows the result of the memory capacity, and FIG. 4(c) shows the result of the size of the working memory capacity in the test.

Detailed Description

The experimental procedures used in the following examples are all conventional procedures unless otherwise specified.

Materials, reagents and the like used in the following examples are commercially available unless otherwise specified.