A Translational Model to Assess Sign-Tracking and Goal-Tracking Behavior in Children

Cues or stimuli in the environment can guide behavior in adaptive ways, bringing one in close proximity to valuable resources (for example, food). For some individuals, however, environmental stimuli may acquire inordinate control over behavior and elicit maladaptive tendencies or intrusive thoughts. Thus, the way an individual responds to cues in the environment may be a key determinant of psychopathology. For example, in addiction, relapse is most often triggered by exposure to stimuli (for example, paraphernalia or places) previously associated with the drug-taking experience, and people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience extreme anxiety or flashbacks upon exposure to stimuli reminiscent of a traumatic event. Furthermore, in patients with schizophrenia, psychosis is believed to result from aberrant attribution of motivational salience to environmental stimuli (Kapur, 2003). Such stimuli are able to elicit complex emotional and motivational states via Pavlovian learning, and in recent years we have come to rely on an animal model to better understand these processes (for review see Robinson et al, 2014)