An open-source platform for head-fixed operant and consummatory behavior

Abstract

Head-fixed behavioral experiments in rodents permit unparalleled experimental control, precise measurement of behavior, and concurrent modulation and measurement of neural activity. Here we present OHRBETS (Open-Source Head-fixed Rodent Behavioral Experimental Training System; pronounced 'Orbitz'), a low-cost, open-source platform of hardware and software to flexibly pursue the neural basis of a variety of motivated behaviors. Head-fixed mice tested with OHRBETS displayed operant conditioning for caloric reward that replicates core behavioral phenotypes observed during freely moving conditions. OHRBETS also permits optogenetic intracranial self-stimulation under positive or negative operant conditioning procedures and real-time place preference behavior, like that observed in freely moving assays. In a multi-spout brief-access consumption task, mice displayed licking as a function of concentration of sucrose, quinine, and sodium chloride, with licking modulated by homeostatic or circadian influences. Finally, to highlight the functionality of OHRBETS, we measured mesolimbic dopamine signals during the multi-spout brief-access task that display strong correlations with relative solution value and magnitude of consumption. All designs, programs, and instructions are provided freely online. This customizable platform enables replicable operant and consummatory behaviors and can be incorporated with methods to perturb and record neural dynamics in vivo.

Data availability

All data and analysis code for the paper to reproduce figures and findings can be found at: 10.5281/zenodo.7552454Repository of code required to build the system can be found at:https://github.com/stuberlab/OHRBETS

The following data sets were generated

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Adam Gordon-Fennell

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Joumana M Barbakh

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. MacKenzie T Utley

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-9488-0819
  4. Shreya Singh

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Paula Bazzino

    Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Raaj Gowrishankar

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Michael R Bruchas

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-4713-7816
  8. Mitchell F Roitman

    Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Garret D Stuber

    Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
    For correspondence
    gstuber@uw.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-1730-4855

Funding

National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA032750)

  • Garret D Stuber

National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA038168)

  • Garret D Stuber

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All animal procedures were pre-approved by Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) at the University of Washington (#4450-01) or University of Illinois at Chicago (#20-031)

Copyright

© 2023, Gordon-Fennell et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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  1. Adam Gordon-Fennell
  2. Joumana M Barbakh
  3. MacKenzie T Utley
  4. Shreya Singh
  5. Paula Bazzino
  6. Raaj Gowrishankar
  7. Michael R Bruchas
  8. Mitchell F Roitman
  9. Garret D Stuber
(2023)
An open-source platform for head-fixed operant and consummatory behavior
eLife 12:e86183.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.86183

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.86183

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