Spatial Cognition Platform

Spatial cognition paradigms in animal models tend to focus on allocentric means of navigation where animals rely on environmental landmarks. There is a need for spatial cognition paradigms that also take egocentric navigation into account, where an animal’s own point of view  or position matters in navigation. Alfonso Brea Guerrero and colleagues in the Wilber Lab at Florida State University have developed a flexible, easy to modify platform to address this need.

Their system uses a custom-designed circular platform and custom-made hardware and software for control of behavioral events, written for MATLAB. It can be used to automate aspects of existing mazes (T maze, Y maze, etc), or it can be used to develop completely customized designs, even outside of spatial cognition (such as studies related to attention or decision making). This flexibility comes from the  use of two software platforms. The first is “Maze,” which allows for automated reward delivery based on user-defined zones. The second is “Stim Trigger,” which allows researchers to control brain stimulation via Arduino controlled equipment. These platforms can additionally work in conjunction with in vivo electrophysiology acquisition systems (Neuralynx and Open Ephys), allowing for precise time stamping of neural events. The group has also demonstrated the ability to use video-tracking methods (Bonsai, DeepLabCut) with their platform. Taken together, capabilities of the platform itself along with its ability to work well with other methods allows researchers to have great flexibility in their experimental design.

This research tool was created by your colleagues. Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator, cite the article in which the tool was described, and include an RRID in the Materials and Methods of your future publications. RRID:SCR_026191