Touchscreen and Translational Cognition: A Systematic Review of Trials in Humans and Rodents

TL;DR

This paper reviews how touchscreen technology can be used to assess cognitive functions in both humans and rodents, offering a promising approach for translational research.

Contribution

The study systematically reviews and compares touchscreen cognitive assessments in co-clinical trials involving humans and rodents.

Findings

Touchscreen platforms show potential for cognitive assessment across human and rodent models.

Behavioral flexibility and visuospatial cognition are the most comparable cognitive domains.

Methodological diversity and a scarcity of studies remain significant challenges in the field.

Abstract

The implementation of touchscreen platforms in co‐clinical trials for rodents (i.e., mice and rats) and humans to assess cognitive functions presents an opportunity to overcome barriers present in conventional clinical trials. To better visualize the progress made in this area, this review proposes a systematic synthesis of the comparability of touchscreen cognitive assessment studies applied to both humans and rodents in a co‐clinical framework. To accomplish this objective the Ovid, PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect databases were searched, in English, and without publication date limit and registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (PROSPERO) under the number CRD420250650537. The screening resulted in 5 cross‐sectional studies and 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT) included, which were assessed for methodological quality and risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools. The data acquired in this review reinforce the potential of touchscreen platforms for cognitive assessment across human and rodent models. Behavioral flexibility and visuospatial cognition excelled in terms of comparability. The scarcity of studies and methodological diversity represent significant gaps in the field. Regardless, the available data highlight important opportunities for advancing translational research in cognition with a co‐clinical approach.

The implementation of touchscreen platforms in co‐clinical trials for rodents (i.e., mice and rats) and humans to assess cognitive functions presents an opportunity to overcome barriers present in conventional clinical trials. A systematic review was conducted to assess the comparability of the use of touchscreen cognitive assessment in a co‐clinical framework addressing humans and rodents. The data acquired reinforce the potential of touchscreen platforms for cognitive assessment. Behavioral flexibility and visuospatial cognition excelled in terms of comparability. The available data highlight important opportunities for advancing translational research in cognition with a co‐clinical approach.

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