An automated behavioral box to assess forelimb function in rats

Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Chelsea C WongKarunesh Ganguly

Abstract

Rodent forelimb reaching behaviors are commonly assessed using a single-pellet reach-to-grasp task. While the task is widely recognized as a very sensitive measure of distal limb function, it is also known to be very labor-intensive, both for initial training and the daily assessment of function. Using components developed by open-source electronics platforms, we have designed and tested a low-cost automated behavioral box to measure forelimb function in rats. Our apparatus, made primarily of acrylic, was equipped with multiple sensors to control the duration and difficulty of the task, detect reach outcomes, and dispense pellets. Our control software, developed in MATLAB, was also used to control a camera in order to capture and process video during reaches. Importantly, such processing could monitor task performance in near real-time. We further demonstrate that the automated apparatus can be used to expedite skill acquisition, thereby increasing throughput as well as facilitating studies of early versus late motor learning. The setup is also readily compatible with chronic electrophysiological monitoring. Compared to a previous version of this task, our setup provides a more efficient method to train and test rodents for stu...Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 21, 2015·Journal of Neuroscience Methods·April M BeckerMark P Goldberg
Oct 28, 2015·PloS One·Andrew M SloanSeth A Hays
Aug 9, 2016·American Journal of Transplantation : Official Journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons·B KernG Brandacher
Sep 19, 2015·PLoS Biology·Dhakshin S RamanathanKarunesh Ganguly
May 28, 2019·Nature Neuroscience·Stefan M LemkeKarunesh Ganguly
Jun 20, 2018·Nature Medicine·Dhakshin S RamanathanKarunesh Ganguly
Aug 15, 2020·Nature Communications·T L VeutheyK Ganguly
Jun 14, 2019·Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair·Anil SindhurakarJason B Carmel
Jan 23, 2018·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Ioana NicaJean-Marie Aerts

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