The University of Groningen (the UG) requires Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Systems (BSTS) for training rats and mice to achieve complex cognitive abilities that resemble performance of humans. Each required system (one for rats and one for mice) includes software and hardware necessary for species-specific task acquisition, along with camera equipment to monitor each animal. Conventional behavioural tests cannot be used to assess high-level cognitive abilities in these animals, which is why the UG must use these systems so that neurobiological and medical studies on laboratory rodents can more directly reproduce what is expected in humans.  The BSTS systems are instruments that are used for automated behavioural training of cognitive tasks administered on a touch-sensitive screen. To limit stress and distraction, the tasks are administered in a sound-attenuated chamber, and the desired behavior is rewarded. The screen provides stimuli in the form of white light, or two-dimensional shapes, and depending on the task, time to make contact with the screen and/or accuracy with making contact on a particular location of the screen is recorded by the system computer. When the rodent performs the desired behavior, they are rewarded with food/liquid. The proprietary software provides the training in preset stages and records when each animal proceeds to the next step. Given the versatility with having multiple options for cognitive tasks, these chambers can be used by several researchers involved in different aspects of neuroscience and medicine. The systems are developed separately for rats and mice, the two most common laboratory rodents in neuroscience research. Thus, the touchscreen systems the UG requires include a separate system for each species.

The University of Groningen (the UG) requires Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Systems (BSTS) for training rats and mice to achieve complex cognitive abilities that resemble performance of humans. Each required system (one for rats and one for mice) includes software and hardware necessary for species-specific task acquisition, along with camera equipment to monitor each animal. Conventional behavioural tests cannot be used to assess high-level cognitive abilities in these animals, which is why the UG must use these systems so that neurobiological and medical studies on laboratory rodents can more directly reproduce what is expected in humans.  The BSTS systems are instruments that are used for automated behavioural training of cognitive tasks administered on a touch-sensitive screen. To limit stress and distraction, the tasks are administered in a sound-attenuated chamber, and the desired behavior is rewarded. The screen provides stimuli in the form of white light, or two-dimensional shapes, and depending on the task, time to make contact with the screen and/or accuracy with making contact on a particular location of the screen is recorded by the system computer. When the rodent performs the desired behavior, they are rewarded with food/liquid. The proprietary software provides the training in preset stages and records when each animal proceeds to the next step. Given the versatility with having multiple options for cognitive tasks, these chambers can be used by several researchers involved in different aspects of neuroscience and medicine. The systems are developed separately for rats and mice, the two most common laboratory rodents in neuroscience research. Thus, the touchscreen systems the UG requires include a separate system for each species.