Discrimination difficulty, cognitive burden, and reversal impairments in a maternal immune activation model of schizophrenia risk.

Reversal-learning impairments in the maternal immune activation (MIA) model of schizophrenia risk have been interpreted as being indicative of deficits in reinforcement learning. Here we sought to assess the specific role of cognitive burden in discrimination learning and reversal performance in this model. Control and MIA rats were trained on a visual discrimination task in which responses on either a left or right lever were rewarded depending on the location of a cue light at the beginning of the trial.