Frontiers in Neuroscience (Oct 2011)

Rodent versions of the Iowa Gambling Task: opportunities and challenges for the understanding of decision-making

  • Leonie ede Visser,
  • Judith eHomberg,
  • Manuela eMitsogiannis,
  • Fiona eZeeb,
  • Marion eRivalan,
  • Aurelie eFitoussi,
  • Vasco eGalhardo,
  • Vasco eGalhardo,
  • Ruud evan den Bos,
  • Catherine eWinstanley,
  • Françoise eDellu-Hagedorn

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2011.00109
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5

Abstract

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Impaired decision-making is a core problem in several psychiatric disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, mania, drug addiction, eating disorders, and substance abuse as well as in chronic pain. To ensure progress in the understanding of the neuropathophysiology of these disorders, animals models with good construct and predictive validity are indispensable. Many human studies aimed at measuring decision-making capacities use the Iowa Gambling Task, a task designed to model every-day life choices through a conflict between immediate gratification and long-term outcomes. Recently, new rodent models based on the same principle have been developed to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying IGT-like decision-making on behavioral, neural and pharmacological levels. The comparative strengths, as well as the similarities and differences between these paradigms are discussed. The contribution of these models to elucidate the neurobehavioral factors that lead to poor decision-making and to the development of better treatments for psychiatric illness is considered, along with important future directions and potential limitations.

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