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Behavioral Science

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Assessing Dexterity with Reaching Tasks

Overview

Reaching tasks are employed in behavioral neuroscience to investigate motor learning and forelimb dexterity. Much like human hands, rodents have dexterous forepaws, which are necessary for executing coordinated and precise motor movements. Experimenters may utilize food rewards to train rodents to reach and for testing their reaching abilities. These tasks help behavioral neuroscientist in understanding how CNS injuries, such as a stroke, may impair reaching ability and dexterity in humans.

This video begins by discussing the principles and neurobiology of forelimb use in rodents, and then explains a protocol on how to conduct reaching experiments using different types of food rewards. Applications section reviews studies that involve reaching and food handling in animal models of CNS injury.

Procedure

Reaching tasks are used in the field of behavioral neuroscience to assess forelimb dexterity and motor learning. Animals are motivated to reach for appetizing food rewards, such as pasta or seeds. Aiming, grasping, breaking, and retrieving are some novel skills that animals acquire and refine while learning these tasks.

This video covers the reasons why behavioral neuroscientists study skilled reaching, and discusses a protocol for conducting reaching experiments. Lastly, the video will also review some specific

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