Low-cost open hardware system for behavioural experiments simultaneously with electrophysiological recordings

Author(s)

Aguiar, Leandro A. A. ; de Vasconcelos, Nivaldo A. P. ; Tunes, Gabriela Chiuffa ; Fontenele, Antonio J. ; Nogueira, Romildo de Albuquerque ; Reyes, Marcelo Bussotti ; Carelli, Pedro, V

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: HARDWAREX; v. 8, p. 11-pg., 2020-10-01.

Abstract

A major frontier in neuroscience is to find neural correlates of perception, learning, decision making, and a variety of other types of behavior. In the last decades, modern devices allow simultaneous recordings of different operant responses and the electrical activity of large neuronal populations. However, the commercially available instruments for studying operant conditioning are expensive, and the design of low-cost chambers has emerged as an appealing alternative to resource-limited laboratories engaged in animal behavior. In this article, we provide a full description of a platform that records the operant behavior and synchronizes it with the electrophysiological activity. The programming of this platform is open source, flexible, and adaptable to a wide range of operant conditioning tasks. We also show results of operant conditioning experiments with freely moving rats with simultaneous electrophysiological recordings. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/20277-0 - Computational and systems neuroscience
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Roque da Silva Filho
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/18914-7 - Eletrofisiologic registers and manipulation on the neural activity in the prefrontal cortex of rats during the temporal learning
• Grantee: Gabriela Chiuffa Tunes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)