Strategies are described that enable extrapolation of experimental findings from animal studies to the clinic relevant to the treatment of cognitive dysfunction. A paradigm is discussed in rats that enables the specification of elementary processes of executive control, mediated in part by the frontal cortex, and relevant to schizophrenia and other forms of cognitive dysfunction. The rationale for the CANTAB battery is discussed and its utility shown, not only for examining the neuromodulation of fronto-executive processes, but also for investigating the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. The utility of the CANTAB test of paired associates, visuo-spatial learning, for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and its possible early treatment, is also described.