A cross-species test of cognitive flexibility: Assessing the influence of phrasing cue modality on serial pattern performance in rats (Rattus norvegicus) and humans (Homo sapiens).

Abstract

The serial multiple choice task is a cross-species model of serial pattern learning that recruits multiple cognitive mechanisms concurrently. The task requires subjects to learn a complex sequence of responses that follow a specific pattern, which is further organized by the placement of distinct cues throughout the sequence. These cues, termed phrasing cues, denote locations in the pattern where response strategy shifts. Although research suggests that phrasing cues facilitate pattern learning, there is a lack of information on how subjects encode these phrasing cues during the pattern learning process. Thus, the current study investigated this further. In this study, rats and humans completed a computerized version of the serial multiple choice task, in which subjects learned a complex serial pattern with either a temporal or spatial phrasing cue. Following acquisition of the pattern, the phrasing cues were then switched between groups to assess if pattern performance could generalize across different phrasing cue modalities. Although both phrasing cues similarly facilitated pattern acquisition, the subsequent cue switch produced performance impairments for both species. These results indicate limits in the cognitive flexibility available during serial pattern learning, as neither humans nor rats appeared to readily abstract the function of the phrasing cue independent of its stimulus characteristics. Instead, subjects encoded the specific stimulus characteristics of the phrasing cue within the pattern as it was learned, somewhat limiting the generalizability of their learned behavior to novel contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).