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Updated: May 23, 2026

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents
Published on: May 3, 2012
The Vienna comparative cognition technology (VCCT): an innovative operant conditioning system for various species and
Michael Morten Steurer1, Ulrike Aust, Ludwig Huber
1Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. michael.steurer@univie.ac.at
Abstract:
This article describes a laboratory system for running learning experiments in operant chambers with various species. It is based on a modern version of a classical learning chamber for operant conditioning, the so-called "Skinner box". Rather than constituting a stand-alone unit, as is usually the case, it is an integrated part of a comprehensive technical solution, thereby eliminating a number of practical problems that are frequently encountered in research on animal learning and behavior. The Vienna comparative cognition technology combines modern computer, stimulus presentation, and reinforcement technology with flexibility and user-friendliness, which allows for efficient, widely automatized across-species experimentation, and thus makes the system appropriate for use in a broad range of learning tasks.
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