A Gap in Time: Extending our Knowledge of Temporal Processing Deficits in the HIV-1 Transgenic Rat

Approximately 50 % of hiv-1 seropositive individuals develop hiv-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (hand), which commonly include alterations in executive functions, such as inhibition, set shifting, and complex problem solving. executive function deficits in hiv-1 are fairly well characterized, however, relatively few studies have explored the elemental dimensions of neurocognitive impairment in hiv-1. deficits in temporal processing, caused by hiv-1, underlie the symptoms of impairment in higher level cognitive processes. translational measures of temporal processing, including cross-modal prepulse inhibition (ppi), gap-prepulse inhibition (gap-ppi), and gap threshold detection, were studied in mature (ovariectomized) female hiv-1 transgenic (tg) rats, which express 7 of the 9 hiv-1 genes constitutively throughout development. cross-modal ppi revealed a relative insensitivity to the manipulation of interstimulus interval (isi) in hiv-1 tg animals in comparison to control animals, extending previously reported temporal processing deficits in hiv-1 tg rats to a more advanced age, suggesting the permanence of temporal processing deficits. in gap-ppi, hiv-1 tg animals exhibited a relative insensitivity to the manipulation of isi in comparison to control animals. in gap-threshold detection, hiv-1 tg animals displayed a profound differential sensitivity to the manipulation of gap duration. presence of the hiv-1 transgene was diagnosed with 91.1 % accuracy using gap threshold detection measures. understanding the generality and permanence of temporal processing deficits in the hiv-1 tg rat is vital to modeling neurocognitive deficits observed in hand and provides a key target for the development of a diagnostic screening tool.