Visual Object Recognition Task

Selective attention has been widely studied in rodents using novel object recognition (NOR), which is a rapid task without training or initial exposure session requirement. Since learning and memory tasks in humans have been predominantly based on visual stimuli, in this chapter we describe a modified version of NOR, named visual object recognition task (VORT), where 3D objects are replaced with virtual stationary or moving geometrical 2D shapes, presented on iPod screens. This procedure has been successfully applied to zebrafish, mice and also young infants, indicating an important translational value. Motion, applied to the shapes, proved to be a powerful cue that made the task more valuable for studying attention in zebrafish, rodents and young infants, causing a shift of visual attention towards a moving object. Since strain differences between inbred mice have been reported in different forms of learning tasks, we applied VORT to two genetically modified strains, Snap-25+/− and Shank-3Δ11−/− mice, known to have some intellectual disability, and we found that the application of motion to the shapes improved memory deficit evaluated in VORT only in Snap-25+/− mice. The introduction of motion may highlight attention deficits, thus enhancing the value of psychiatric mouse models.