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Due to tremendous strides in the field of neuroscience it is now possible to employ human brain-imaging techniques that allow for the observation of activated brain areas during the performance of specific tasks. Due to high costs and heavy technological requirements, these imaging procedures are not generally feasible in most neuroscience laboratories. In addition there is also no permissible way to conduct invasive procedures with human test subjects.
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Picture. Rat brain analogue. Coronal sections of the rat and human brain.
A very realistic and viable alternative to human brain imaging techniques is the systematic observation of behavior as an index of brain function. With the definition of the specific parameters within which a behavior of interest occurs, behavior can then be observed, measured and studied. Accordingly, we can study processes that affect the behavior of interest, inferring the related brain structures associated with that behavior. In this fashion we can also observe, measure, and study behavior across a variety of experimental conditions. |
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The use of rodents as test subjects has become a mainstay in the filed of neuroscience. The rodent serves as a stand-in for the human, and allows for a vast array of exploratory avenues, most notably invasive brain procedures and the screening of pharmacotherapies. The last decade has seen an exponential increase in the number of experiments involving the testing of cognitive functions is animals. There were fewer than 200 scientific publications in 1990, but amazingly that number has skyrocketed to over 2000 in 2006 (adapted from Sarter, 2004).
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