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Famous tasks:

MonkeyCantab

FiveChoice

ImpulsiveChoice

SecondOrder

Bussey–Saksida touchscreen paradigms

www.whiskercontrol.com/tasks.shtml

We are aware of the following tasks that have been written for Whisker. Others may write tasks for Whisker, and we are always happy to hear of new Whisker clients. If you would like your task or client to be featured here, drop us a line (see Contact Us).

We have categorized the clients/tasks and support programs as follows. Click on a task name to see more details about the task, or browse below. Some, marked Especially popular tasks, are especially popular.

Example scripts in Perl and Python are also given.

For version information, see What's New and the list of version tracker files (one per project). Click on a file corresponding to a task. The file contains up-to-date version history information and known problems, as of the last build.


Administrative


Whisker

WhiskerServer
The main Whisker program; not itself a client (task). This program must be running for clients (tasks) to function.



WhiskerStatus

WhiskerStatus
Displays the status of other clients (tasks) that are running. Documentation is part of the main Whisker manuals.



WhiskerTestClient

WhiskerTestClient
Allows you to test Whisker servers and explore the Whisker command set manually. Documentation is part of the main Whisker manuals.



Command-line program

Demonstration clients
These include (1) a demonstration of the touchscreen command set; (2) a simple example of networking in Perl; (3) a simple C++ client; (4) a simple Visual Basic client. Documentation is part of the main Whisker manuals.



Command-line program

WhiskerReset
This is not a client (task); it is a small program that may be run when your computer starts. It ensures that all devices are switched off.



Command-line program

VerifyWhiskerLog
This is not a client (task); it is a small program that may be used to check that a cryptographically-signed data log was indeed produced by Whisker.



Command-line program

Whisker software development kit (SDK)
This is not itself a client (task); it is a set of libraries and programs to help you write your own behavioural tasks, in languages such as Visual Basic or C++.



Operant chamber control


AttMem

AttMem
Attention/working memory task.
The task is essentially that used by Chudasama & Robbins (2004, Neuropsychopharmacology, doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300490).



ConditionedReinforcement

ConditionedReinforcement
Acquisition of a new response with conditioned reinforcement.



CondWithdrawal

CondWithdrawal
Conditioned withdrawal task.


Documentation not yet available online.
Command-line program

DialysisStimuli
Noncontingent presentation of stimuli for a dialysis experiment.
As used by Ito et al. (2000, Journal of Neuroscience 20(19): 7489) and Ito et al. (2002, Journal of Neuroscience 22(14): 6247).



FearCond

FearCond
Fear conditioning (shock US) to cue or context.


FiveChoice

FiveChoice
Five-choice serial reaction time task.
First developed by Carli et al. (1983, Behavioral Brain Research 9: 361); recent review by Robbins (2002, Psychopharmacology 163: 362, doi:10.1007/s00213-002-1154-7).



ImpulsiveChoice

ImpulsiveChoice
Choice involving delayed and probablistic rewards.
Originally developed by Evenden & Ryan (1996, Psychopharmacology 128: 161, doi:10.1007/s002130050121); this task after Cardinal et al. (2001, Science 292: 2499, doi:10.1126/science.1060818); used also by, e.g., Cardinal & Howes (2005, BMC Neuroscience 6: 37, doi:10.1186/1471-2202-6-37).



LeverAutoshaping

LeverAutoshaping
Autoshaping using levers as the CS.
As used by Di Ciano et al. (2001, Journal of Neuroscience 21(23): 9471).



LeverReversals

LeverReversals
Reversal learning in a lever-based operant chamber.



PIT

PIT
Simple Pavlovian–instrumental transfer.



SameOpposite

SameOpposite
Same-side/opposite-side reaction time task. Based on Carli, Evenden & Robbins (1985, Nature 313: 679, PMID 3974701).


SecondOrder

SecondOrder
Second-order schedules of food or drug self-administration.
Based on the task originally used by Arroyo et al. (1998, Psychopharmacology 140: 331, doi:10.1007/s002130050774).



SeekTake

SeekTake
Seeking-taking task.
Based on the task originally used by Olmstead et al. (2000, Psychopharmacology 152: 123, doi:10.1007/s002130000498); also used in Vanderschuren & Everitt (2004, Science 305: 1017, doi:10.1126/science.1098975).



SeekTakeShock

SeekTakeShock
Seeking-taking task with a punishment capability and a concurrent VI schedule.


SimpleSchedules

SimpleSchedules
Implements continuous reinforcement (CRF, FR-1), delayed FR-1, extinction (EXT), fixed ratio (FR), variable ratio (VR), random ratio (RR), probabilistic (PROB), fixed interval (FI), random interval (RI), variable interval (VI), fixed time (FT), variable time (VT), and random time (RT) schedules on two manipulanda concurrently. Used by, e.g., Cardinal & Cheung (2005, BMC Neuroscience 6: 9, doi:10.1186/1471-2202-6-9), Cheung & Cardinal (2005, BMC Neuroscience 6: 36, doi:10.1186/1471-2202-6-36).

Touchscreen control


Whisker

Delayed matching/non-matching to sample (DMTS, DNMTS)
Written by Mike Aitken in Visual Basic for the University of Newcastle. Uses arbitrary visual stimuli.


Documentation not yet available online.
VisualAutoshaping

VisualAutoshaping
Autoshaping with stimuli displayed on a touchscreen.
Based on a task originally used by Bussey et al. (1997, Behavioral Neuroscience 111: 908).



PigTab

PigTab
Cognitive test battery for minipigs. Originally developed for use by the University of Copenhagen. The battery currently contains the following tests:

  • Reinforcement Familiarization
  • Touchscreen Training
  • Visual Discriminations and Set-Shifting
  • Delayed Matching and Non-Matching To Sample
  • Spatial Working Memory
  • Three-choice Serial Reaction Time test
  • Delayed Matching to Location
  • Progressive Ratio Schedule

RatBat

RatBat

RatBat
Cognitive test battery for rats. The test battery includes:

  • Reinforcement familiarization.
  • Touchscreen training.
  • Reversal learning, with two- and three-stimulus tasks and probabilistic reversal.
  • Delayed matching/non-matching to sample.
  • Paired-associates learning.
  • Simple schedules of reinforcement, with continuous reinforcement, extinction, fixed ratio, variable ratio, random ratio, probabilistic, fixed interval, random interval, variable interval, fixed time, variable time, random time, progressive ratio, and delayed reinforcement schedules.
  • n-pair concurrent visual discrimination.
  • n-pair concurrent auditory discrimination.
  • Audiovisual intradimensional/extradimensional (ID/ED) attentional set-shifting task.
  • -- For an autoshaping task using touchscreen stimuli, see VisualAutoshaping above.

MonkeyCantab

MonkeyCantab

MonkeyCantab

MonkeyCantab
Cognitive test battery for monkeys, and more recently dogs. Based on legacy code developed in the University of Cambridge and on the previous DOS-based commercial test battery sold by Cambridge Cognition Ltd. The test battery includes:

  • Reinforcement familiarization.
  • Touchscreen training.
  • Visual discriminations (simple and compound), with reversals and intradimensional and extradimensional set shifting. Compound stimuli can be prespecified or built up "on the fly" by superimposing simple stimuli.
  • Reversal learning, with two- and three-stimulus tasks and probabilistic reversal.
  • Delayed matching and non-matching to sample.
  • Self-ordered search task (a.k.a. spatial working memory).
  • Multiple-choice serial reaction time task.
  • Paired-associates learning.
  • Simple schedules of reinforcement, with continuous reinforcement, extinction, fixed ratio, variable ratio, random ratio, probabilistic, fixed interval, random interval, variable interval, fixed time, variable time, random time, progressive ratio, and delayed reinforcement schedules.

An article giving performance norms for rhesus monkeys on the original (DOS-based) version of this battery (by Cambridge Cognition Ltd) is by Weed et al. (1999, Cognitive Brain Research 25: 185, doi:10.1016/S0926-6410(99)00020-8). The current battery has been extended beyond this.

Bussey-Saksida rodent touchscreen paradigms

Bussey-Saksida rodent touchscreen paradigms

Bussey–Saksida rodent touchscreen paradigms
Cognitive test battery for rodents (rats and mice) using the touchscreen chambers designed by Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida of the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge. These tasks run on Lafayette's ABET-II Touch graphical task design software, which in turn runs on an embedded edition of Whisker. The paradigms include:

  • Visual Discrimination and Reversal (VDR)
  • Paired Associate Learning (PAL)
  • Location Discrimination Learning (LD)
  • Visuospatial Conditional Learning (VCL)
  • 5-choice Serial Reaction Time Task (5-CSRT)
  • Trial-Unique Nonmatching-to-Location (TUNL)
  • Autoshaping
  • Extinction
 See links to the left.

Tasks not yet commercially packaged

Y-maze controller
Y-maze apparatus; as used by Ito et al. (2006), PMID 16819997.



Newcastle Autoshaping task
Full details pending.


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Whisker is copyright © 1999-2011 Cambridge University Technical Services Ltd. All rights reserved.
The terms "Whisker", "Whisker Control", and "WhiskerControl" refer to this software.
Whisker was written by Rudolf Cardinal and Mike Aitken.
Acknowledgements for Whisker are given in the documentation.
www.whiskercontrol.com