Assessment of Cognitive and Sensorimotor Deficits

The behavioral tests described in this chapter provide a relatively comprehensive characterization of cognitive and/or sensorimotor deficits in various rodent models of human neuropathology. Sensorimotor coordination (and unilateral deficits), general activity levels, anxiety and depression-like behaviors, basic associative learning, relational learning, short-term memory, long-term memory, and problem-solving strategy are among the domains that can be assessed with the data collected. After initial characterization of the model, a subset of the tests may provide a more efficient battery for therapeutic studies using that model.