Improved Behavioral Box and Sensing Techniques for Analysis of Tactile Discrimination Tasks in Rodents

Abstract

Neuroscience behavioral studies stand out among the research works in this area. In these studies, normally, rodents are put inside closed platforms known as behavioral boxes in order to perform tasks and have their behaviors observed by way of sensors and annotations by hand. In this work, we aim to improve this research process by developing new techniques based upon the full automation of the behavioral box processes for more easily acquiring data. We come up with a new structural design using cutting-edge technology, with enhanced spaces and better materials. We use components that can be easily purchased (or built) and developed new techniques for control and data acquisition. Our new platform allows for more precise control of the opening of the discrimination bars, which was not satisfactorily done with previous platforms. This makes possible the design of more complex decision-making experiments using camera and sensor systems, allowing a better assessment of rodent performance in the discrimination task. All the necessary materials and development documents are made available in a collaborative multi-user platform allowing work replication. With this, the present study provides a low-cost tool with ease of development and construction that can be used by laboratories that work with this type of research.