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An automated, low-latency environment for studying the neural basis of behavior in freely moving rats
Abstract
Background Behavior consists of the interaction between an organism and its environment, and is controlled by the brain. Brain activity varies at sub-second time scales, but behavioral measures are usually coarse (often consisting of only binary trial outcomes). Results To overcome this mismatch, we developed the Rat Interactive Foraging Facility (RIFF): a programmable interactive arena for freely moving rats with multiple feeding areas, multiple sound sources, high-resolution behavioral tracking, and simultaneous electrophysiological recordings. The paper provides detailed information about the construction of the RIFF and the software used to control it. To illustrate the flexibility of the RIFF, we describe two complex tasks implemented in the RIFF, a foraging task and a sound localization task. Rats quickly learned to obtain rewards in both tasks. Neurons in the auditory cortex as well as neurons in the auditory field in the posterior insula had sound-driven activity during behavior. Remarkably, neurons in both structures also showed sensitivity to non-auditory parameters such as location in the arena and head-to-body angle. Conclusions The RIFF provides insights into the cognitive capabilities and learning mechanisms of rats and opens the way to a better understanding of how brains control behavior. The ability to do so depends crucially on the combination of wireless electrophysiology and detailed behavioral documentation available in the RIFF.
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Authors (5)
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Ana Polterovich
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and the Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Alex Kazakov
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and the Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Johannes Niediek
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and the Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Israel Nelken
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and the Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Cite as
Full text
- Publication version
- Accepted or Published Version
- DOI:
- Digital Object Identifier (open in new tab) 10.1186/s12915-023-01660-9
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Details
- Category:
- Articles
- Type:
- artykuły w czasopismach
- Published in:
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BMC BIOLOGY
no. 21,
ISSN: 1741-7007 - Language:
- English
- Publication year:
- 2023
- Bibliographic description:
- Jankowski M., Polterovich A., Kazakov A., Niediek J., Nelken I.: An automated, low-latency environment for studying the neural basis of behavior in freely moving rats// BMC BIOLOGY -Vol. 21,iss. 1 (2023), s.172-
- DOI:
- Digital Object Identifier (open in new tab) 10.1186/s12915-023-01660-9
- Sources of funding:
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- AdERC grant GA-340063 (project RATLAND), F.I.R.S.T. grant no. 1075/2013 from the Israel Science Foundation; DFG Research Fellowship (ref. NI 2012/1-1; project number 442068558).
- Verified by:
- Gdańsk University of Technology
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