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Development of Eight Wireless Automated Cages System with Two Lickometers Each for Rodents
Mariana Cardoso Melo1, Paulo Eduardo Alves1, Marianna Nogueira Cecyn1
1Departamento de Psicobiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), São Paulo, Brazil.
Eneuro
|July 19, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a low-cost, wireless lick-o-meter system for detailed rodent drinking microstructure analysis. This accessible device captures licking bouts and preferences, aiding studies on metabolism and alcohol use disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Science
- Animal Behavior Research
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Drinking behavior research commonly uses bottle weighing, which lacks detailed microstructure data.
- Understanding drinking microstructure is crucial for studying metabolism, motivation, and disorders like alcohol use disorder.
- Existing lick-o-meter devices are often expensive, limiting accessibility for many research labs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a low-cost, wireless lick-o-meter system for acquiring high-resolution drinking microstructure data in rodents.
- To provide an accessible tool for researchers studying drinking behavior, decision-making, and related health conditions.
- To enable simultaneous data acquisition from multiple cages, enhancing experimental throughput.
Main Methods:
- Designed a lick-o-meter system utilizing capacitive sensors for lick detection and wireless data transmission.
- Implemented a three-phase validation protocol: sensor selection, wireless transmission and in silico testing, and in vivo correlation with volume consumption.
- Tested the prototype's ability to accurately record licking events from eight cages, each with two sippers.
Main Results:
- The capacitive sensor demonstrated high precision and recall for detecting licks.
- In silico tests confirmed low reading and transmission errors, even under high-volume licking conditions.
- In vivo validation showed a significant positive correlation between the number of licks recorded and the actual volume of liquid consumed.
Conclusions:
- The developed low-cost lick-o-meter system is a reliable tool for acquiring detailed rodent drinking microstructure data.
- This open-source hardware and user-friendly software solution enhances accessibility for behavioral neuroscience research.
- The system's adaptability allows for integration with other neuroscience tools, enabling multi-modal data acquisition.
