Abstract
The human psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) was developed as a sensitive and standardized assay capable of quantifying changes in sustained attention. The procedure requires subjects to respond to a light stimulus as soon as it appears; a response extinguishes the stimulus and displays the subject's reaction time. The PVT is widely used in risk assessments in operational environments to provide feedback on fatigue levels and alertness.Given the importance and widespread use of the PVT, we have adapted a rodent PVT (rPVT) for use in the laboratory, primarily to detect drug‐ and radiation‐induced changes in neurobehavioral function in rats. Rats performing on the rPVT and humans on the PVT display similar mean reaction times, lapses in attention, premature responding, and normal variations in sustained attention. Amphetamine altered performances in a manner similar to the effects of psychostimulants; Zolpidem produced dose‐dependent decreases in rPVT performance. Further, rPVT performance is sensitive to individual differences in dopamine function following head‐only radiation exposure: rats showing significant changes in dopamine protein levels displayed performance deficits. Future work is focused on further examining the neurochemical systems involved in performing the rPVT and developing therapeutic strategies aimed at improving performance degraded by various environmental manipulations.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
