Research

High-Throughput Behavioral Training

We use rats as a model system, because they are capable of sophisticated behaviors and also amenable to a variety of circuit-based techniques.  They are also small, inexpensive, and amenable to high-throughput training. We have developed a high-throughput behavioral training facility that trains dozens of rats in parallel simultaneously, using computerized shaping procedures, with little experimenter intervention.  In addition to reducing the “effort cost” of behavioral experiments, high-throughput training also generates large datasets per animal, which provides statistical power for behavioral modeling. Being able to train large numbers of subjects also allows us to leverage individual differences in behavior as “features” that are revealing of underlying neurobiological correlates, as opposed to “bugs” to be averaged out.