Comparative Cognitive Flexibility Assessment: Multidimensional set-shifting in monkeys, adult humans and children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

by Pinar Yurt
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2024-11-22
Date of issue:2025-11-10
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Stefan Treue
Referee:Prof. Dr. Stefan Treue
Referee:Prof. Dr. Hannes Rakoczy
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-11622

 

 

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Abstract

English

This thesis aims to provide a be0er and more comprehensive understanding of one of the crucial execu8ve func8ons: cogni8ve flexibility (Chapters 2 and 3). To that end, we have developed a novel mul8-dimensional set-shiEing paradigm to inves8gate cogni8ve flexibility of rhesus macaques and humans. We have tested rhesus macaques and humans without making species-specific modifica8ons and successfully measured their respec8ve cogni8ve flexibility (Yurt et.al., 2022). Having this common method across different species fills gaps in transla8onal science. Moreover, we have used the same paradigm to assess the cogni8ve flexibility of children and adolescents with and without an ADHD diagnosis. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condi8on associated with ina0en8on, hyperac8vity, and impulsivity. Thus, this condi8on has been associated with poor cogni8ve flexibility, although recent studies suggest that the poor performance individuals with ADHD show for cogni8ve flexibility tasks might have been caused by how the tradi8onal reversal learning and set- shiEing tasks have been implemented. We suggest that, with the novel understanding we are providing with our task, we can understand ADHD be0er. Considering that execu8ve func8ons develop in parallel to brain development from childhood to adolescence and to adulthood, tes8ng par8cipants in a wide age range would also aid in understanding how age-related differences in cogni8ve flexibility occur and how this execu8ve func8on develops. Moreover, our task brings elements of tradi8onal set-shiEing and reversal learning paradigms together and has the poten8al to dis8nguish different types of rule learning behaviors, namely rule shiEing and rule reversal. Finally, although we don’t suggest our task as a diagnosis method, having a common task for both species could pave the way for iden8fying individual monkeys that might show behaviors similar to those seen in neurodivergent human popula8ons. In addi8on to this abovemen8oned main project, this thesis also summarizes several other projects, some technical and some others research ques8on oriented. Most of these projects aim at contribu8ng to the understanding of monkey cogni8on and behavior be0er, and to improve their welfare while performing cogni8ve assessments. Chapter 4 is a published commentary for the original ar8cle “The causal role of alpha- oscilla8ons in feature binding” by Zhang et al., 2019. Chapter 5 is also a published paper (Hansmeyer et.al., 2023) describing and housing environment based electrophysiological recording setup inves8ga8ng the neural and behavioral data from unrestrained rhesus macaques. Chapter 6 focuses on another published paper (Calapai et.al., 2023) introducing a mul8ple- choice paradigm for cogni8ve enrichment of cap8ve rhesus macaques while they reside in their home-environment. And finally, Chapter 7 summarizes a published paper (Pfefferle et.al., 2025) focusing on different approaches for preference tes8ng of rhesus macaques. Analysis of human image preference data, preference test results from mice and rhesus macaques are presented in this manuscript, and a new approach via an R-package (“simsalRbim”) is described.
Keywords: Cognitive flexibility
 
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