Ferret contributions to the business of sensory neurobiology.

In this brief review, we will highlight the ferret Mustela putorius furo as an increasingly utilized animal model for sensory systems and cognitive neuroscience research. In particular, the human like hearing range of the ferret, coupled with their amenability to training, make them an especially useful model for auditory and multisensory neuroscience. These factors, combined with the increasing availability of virally mediated circuit dissection methods, mean they occupy a unique niche as a versatile and valuable research model.

Mutations in neuroligin-3 in male mice impact behavioral flexibility but not relational memory in a touchscreen test of visual transitive inference.

Cognitive dysfunction including disrupted behavioral flexibility is central to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A cognitive measure that assesses relational memory, and the ability to flexibly assimilate and transfer learned information is transitive inference. Transitive inference is highly conserved across vertebrates and disrupted in cognitive disorders.