Rat operant conditioning system 80610A

for behavioral research

DETAILS These are the original 5/9 hole chambers systems. The rat chamber developed at the University of Cambridge Dept of Experimental Psychology and the mouse chamber at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge. Software of the 5 choice serial reaction time task [5CSRT] is available as part of the BehaviourNet Control System. The Applications A novel variation on the conventional Operant chamber used primarily for the serial 5-choice reaction time task. The nose-poke response is rapidly trained and is easier than a lever-press for the animal to execute. Nine responses can be used, rather than the usual two, allowing for the study of response sequencing. Reaction times can be separated from movement times by requiring the animal to hold its nose in one hole until signalled to move to another. Lateralisation can be studied by presenting brief stimuli to the periphery while the animal is required to hold its nose in the central hole. Discrimination can be studied parametrically by varying brightness and position of stimulus, and attention can be tested with the use of distracting lights or noises. These are just a few of the tasks to which the apparatus has been successfully applied. For a review of the 5-choice serial reaction time task see T.W Robbins, Psychopharmacology, (2002) 163, 362-380.