February 2015: This Month in JoVE - Tracking Down Foodborne Illness, Imaging Baby Brains, and Paying Scientific Attention to Attention

Protocol

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Jillian M. Heisler¹, Juan Morales¹, Jennifer J. Donegan¹, Julianne D. Jett¹, Laney Redus¹, Jason C. O'Connor^1,2

¹Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, ²Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital, South Texas Veteran's Health Care System

The goal of this protocol is to perform a behavioral assay such as the attentional set shifting task (AST) to assess prefrontal cortex-mediated cognitive flexibility in mice.

Detection of Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens from Individual Filth Flies

Monica Pava-Ripoll, Rachel E.G. Pearson, Amy K. Miller, George C. Ziobro

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

A PCR-based protocol was adapted to detect Cronobacter spp., Salmonella enterica, and Listeria monocytogenes from body surfaces and alimentary canals of individual wild-caught flies. The goal of this protocol is to detect and isolate bacterial pathogens from individual insects collected as part of an environmental sampling program during foodborne outbreak investigations.

Methods to Test Visual Attention Online

Amanda Yung¹, Pedro Cardoso-Leite², Gillian Dale³, Daphne Bavelier^2,4, C. Shawn Green³

¹Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, ²Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, ³Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, ⁴Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester

To replicate laboratory settings, online data collection methods for visual tasks require tight control over stimulus presentation. We outline methods for the use of a web application to collect performance data on two tests of visual attention.

State of the Art Cranial Ultrasound Imaging in Neonates

Ginette M. Ecury-Goossen¹, Fleur A. Camfferman², Lara M. Leijser^3,4, Paul Govaert^1,5, Jeroen Dudink^1,2

¹Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, ²Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, ³Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, UZ Brussel, ⁴Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Leiden University Medical Center, ⁵Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Isala Hospital, ⁶Department of Pediatrics, Koningin Paola Children's Hospital

Cranial ultrasound (CUS) is a valuable tool for brain imaging in critically ill neonates. This video shows a comprehensive approach for neonatal (Doppler) CUS for both clinical and research purposes, including a bedside demonstration of the technique.