Using a Mouse Model to Understand Auditory Learning
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Date
2024
Authors
Toea, Gabriel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This project's purpose was to characterize the length of time required for a cohort of mice to learn a frequency or amplitude modulated sound discrimination task and to understand if mice could learn to alternate between these two tasks every other day. To answer these questions, a cohort of nine mice were trained to learn a two-choice frequency discrimination task while another cohort of nine mice were trained to learn a two-choice amplitude modulated sound discrimination task followed by a two-choice frequency discrimination task. Results from these experiments highlight mice can learn both the frequency and amplitude modulated sound discrimination tasks. On average, it took 18 days for a cohort of mice to learn the frequency discrimination task, while it took 39 days for a cohort of mice to learn the amplitude modulated discrimination task. Excluding the days required for behavioral shaping, the mice learning the frequency discrimination task took 8 days to pass the final training stage, while mice learning the amplitude modulated discrimination task took 32 days to pass the final stage of training. For the cohort that learned the frequency discrimination task after the amplitude modulated discrimination task, mice on average took 6 days to pass the final training stage. This was a two-day reduction compared to the cohort that only learned the frequency discrimination task, suggesting that mice can quickly learn other sound discrimination tasks.
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Keywords
Auditory Neuroscience, Biology, Mouse Model, Learning, Behavior