Custom-Built Operant Conditioning Setup for Calcium Imaging and Cognitive Testing in Freely Moving Mice

Abstract

AcknowledgementsFigure illustrations were created using templates from BioRender.com. We extend our thanks to Dr. Florence Allain for assisting with the box illustrations for the figures and Jose-Maria Restrepo for assisting with the miniscope analysis. We also thank David Munro for assisting with the 3D print of the pellet dispenser component.

FreiBox: A Versatile Open-Source Behavioral Setup for Investigating the Neuronal Correlates of Behavioral Flexibility via 1-Photon Imaging in Freely Moving Mice

“…Typical behavioral responses in freely moving animals are nose pokes (NPs) in specific chambers, visits in maze arms, presses on a specific lever, or movements of a joystick in a specific direction to obtain a reward ( Castañé et al, 2010 ; Parker et al, 2016 ; Izquierdo et al, 2017 ; Belsey et al, 2020 ; Lee et al, 2020 ; Mazziotti et al, 2020 ; Vassilev et al, 2022 ). For instance, Vassiliev et al (2022) recently developed a well documented and open-source setup to perform a Go/No-Go task.…”

“…Typical behavioral responses in freely moving animals are nose pokes (NPs) in specific chambers, visits in maze arms, presses on a specific lever, or movements of a joystick in a specific direction to obtain a reward ( Castañé et al, 2010 ; Parker et al, 2016 ; Izquierdo et al, 2017 ; Belsey et al, 2020 ; Lee et al, 2020 ; Mazziotti et al, 2020 ; Vassilev et al, 2022 ). For instance, Vassiliev et al (2022) recently developed a well documented and open-source setup to perform a Go/No-Go task. While this approach is already very useful to explore behavioral flexibility in freely moving mice, no currently available setup permits measurement of directional licking, a behavioral paradigm that can access numerous cognitive processes in head-restrained mice ( Mayrhofer et al, 2019 ; Wu et al, 2020 ; Bollu et al, 2021 ; Catanese and Jaeger, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ).…”

RECORD: A high-throughput system for complex naturalistic decision-making in rodents

“…VR T-mazes can be used in conjunction with two-photon calcium imaging, which requires head fixation, and a movement system allowing for the quantification of lateral velocity, movement, or angle of the rodent during performance of the behavioral experiment 14 .Also commonly used to study DM in rodents are operant conditioning tasks 16,17 . These tasks are performed by rodents making responses (e.g., nose-pokes 18,19 or lever presses 20 ), oftentimes in an operant chamber. During these tasks, the animal's decision, time to decision, time spent waiting for a reward, and more are tracked.…”

“…During these tasks, the animal's decision, time to decision, time spent waiting for a reward, and more are tracked. Some operant conditioning tasks use touchscreens as an alternative to traditional nose-poke compartments 21 ; others may extend the experimental space so the rodent traverses the chamber when deciding 22 , while some tasks utilize auditory cues to signal the presence of a reward or cost 19 .All the aforementioned methods are excellent tools for studying different facets of DM. Nonetheless, most of these methods are used to analyze one or two levels of rewards and costs at a time 3,5,23 .…”

“…Also commonly used to study DM in rodents are operant conditioning tasks 16,17 . These tasks are performed by rodents making responses (e.g., nose-pokes 18,19 or lever presses 20 ), oftentimes in an operant chamber. During these tasks, the animal's decision, time to decision, time spent waiting for a reward, and more are tracked.…”