Figure 2. Example of the front end graphical user interface (GUI).

Through this interface, the user defines the trial to be performed. Observation-only trials (useful to characterize behavior of mutants or pharmacologically-altered individuals) can be run simply by leaving out any shock or light feedback to the animals. In this example, the GUI is programmed for a planarian phototaxis trial as describe in Fig. 5. Notable features of this GUI include: (1) e-mail notification, both after a successful trial ends and immediately if a serious problem occurs during the trial; (2) yoked control mode can be indicated for half of the device chambers (the 6 even or odd channels); (3) light punishment can be associated with a specific position of the animal -4 quadrants can be set to yes (Y) or no (N) with specific distances from the edge or center or with general movement (speed), and the electric shock conditions can be set similarly (independently); (4) blue light illumination in different intensities can be set as background or punishment for each one of the quadrants; and (5) data quality threshold filter can detect abnormal animal movements like jumps of a large distance in a short time that may indicate a tracking problem. The threshold setting 0–1 will determine when punishment should be stopped in order to prevent false training.