Impulsivity trait in the early symptomatic BACHD transgenic rat model of Huntington disease.

Impulsivity trait was characterized in 3-5 months old BACHD rats, a transgenic model of Huntington disease, using (1) the delay discounting task to assess cognitive/choice impulsivity, and (2) the Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate of Responding task to evaluate motor/action impulsivity. Transgenic animals showed a high level of choice impulsivity and, to a lesser extent, action impulsivity. Our results provide the first evidence that the transgenic BACHD rat (TG5 line) displays impulsivity disorder as early as 3 months old, as described in early symptomatic HD patients, thus adding to the face validity of the rat model.