LocoBox: Modular Hardware and Open-Source Software for Circadian Entrainment and Behavioral Monitoring in Home Cages

Area of Science:

• Chronobiology
• Animal Behavior
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Circadian rhythms govern daily activity patterns in animals, influenced by light-dark cycles.
• Understanding how genetic variations and light entrainment affect circadian locomotor activity is crucial but remains incomplete.
• Existing methods for studying circadian rhythms are often limited in scale and flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the LocoBox, a novel, cost-effective system for high-throughput phenotyping of circadian locomotor activity.
• To enable flexible control of light-dark schedules and T-cycles for precise circadian entrainment studies.
• To facilitate the cataloging of circadian input-output patterns across different genotypes and entrainment conditions.

Main Methods:

• Construction of the LocoBox using economical, readily available components and standard animal breeding cages.
• Integration of environmental light control with flexible entrainment scenarios and T-cycle capabilities.
• Development of accompanying Arduino and Python-based graphical user interface (GUI) software for system operation and data acquisition.

Main Results:

• The LocoBox system allows for easy-to-construct and operate, large-scale, parallel cataloging of circadian locomotor activities.
• The system effectively controls light environments and measures locomotor activity in individual home cages.
• Detailed blueprints and software are provided, ensuring the system's replicability in other research laboratories.

Conclusions:

• The LocoBox provides a versatile and accessible platform for comprehensive circadian rhythm research.
• This system addresses the need for standardized, scalable methods to investigate genotype-specific circadian responses to light.
• The open-source nature of the LocoBox promotes wider adoption and advancement in the field of chronobiology.