A rodent model of the human psychomotor vigilance test: Performance comparisons.

•Analogous to the human PVT, the rPVT is an effective task for preclinical studies.•Describes the design and empirical validation of a novel PVT for use with rats.•Results demonstrate effectiveness of the rodent PVT (rPVT) for assessing attention.•Amphetamine increases while zolpidem decreases rPVT performances in rats.•The rPVT is sensitive to radiation-induced deficits in attention.