Navigating to new frontiers in behavioral neuroscience: traditional neuropsychological tests predict human performance on a rodent-inspired radial-arm maze

We constructed an 11-arm, walk-through, human radial-arm maze (HRAM) as a translational instrument to compare existing methodology in the areas of rodent and human learning and memory research. The HRAM, utilized here, serves as an intermediary test between the classic rat radial-arm maze (RAM) and standard human neuropsychological and cognitive tests. We show that the HRAM is a useful instrument to examine working memory ability, explore the relationships between rodent and human memory and cognition models, and evaluate factors that contribute to human navigational ability. One-hundred-and-fifty-seven participants were tested on the HRAM, and scores were compared to performance on a standard cognitive battery focused on episodic memory, working memory capacity, and visuospatial ability. We found that errors on the HRAM increased as working memory demand became elevated, similar to the pattern typically seen in rodents, and that for this task, performance appears similar to Miller's classic description of a processing-inclusive human working memory capacity of 7 ± 2 items. Regression analysis revealed that measures of working memory capacity and visuospatial ability accounted for a large proportion of variance in HRAM scores, while measures of episodic memory and general intelligence did not serve as significant predictors of HRAM performance. We present the HRAM as a novel instrument for measuring navigational behavior in humans, as is traditionally done in basic science studies evaluating rodent learning and memory, thus providing a useful tool to help connect and translate between human and rodent models of cognitive functioning

Using Multisensory Haptic Integration to Improve Monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Alarm fatigue and medical alarm mismanagement reduces the quality of patient care and creates stressful work environments for clinicians. Here, the feasibility of a novel “prealarm” system that utilizes multisensory integration of auditory and haptic stimuli is examined as a possible solution. Methods: Three vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygenation) were represented by three musically distinct sounds that were combined into soundscapes and progressed through five pre-alarm zones (very low to very high). Three haptic conditions were tested with the auditory stimulus to determine the best combination of auditory and haptic stimulation. Qualitative data was collected through surveys and the NASA TLX index Results: Alterations in frequency and timbre were most effective at transmitting information regarding changing vital sign zones with comparatively higher accuracy and quicker reaction time (RT), p \u3c .01. The addition of haptic stimuli to the auditory soundscape caused no significant decline in study participant accuracy or RT. However, two weeks after training, participants performed the tasks significantly faster ( p \u3c .001) and felt the alarm monitoring task was significantly less cognitively demanding ( p \u3c .01), compared to the unisensory condition. Participants also felt more confident in identifying changing vital signs with the addition of haptic stimuli. Discussion: The current study demonstrates that multisensory signals do not diminish the perception of transmitted information and suggest efficient training benefits over unimodal signals. Multisensory training may be beneficial over time compared to unisensory training due to a stronger consolidation effect. The potential integration of haptic input with existing auditory alarm systems and training is supported