Table 1.
Task description of IntelliCage experiments.
| Task | Protocol | Aim | Punish | Duration of the protocol in days (d) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort-1 | Cohort-2 | ||||
| Free Adaptation | FA | Habituation, no tasks, all doors open | No | 4d | 14d |
| Nosepoke adaptation | NP | NP opens doors for 5 s. Learn to make NPs to open doors | No | 10d | 45d |
| Nosepoke 50% probability | NP2s-door opening probability 50% | NP opens door for 2 s, with a probability of 50% | No | 7d | |
| Place preference learning | PPL | Water/sugar water access on NP in one corner, learn to prefer the awarded corner, which was a spontaneously not-preferred corner, 7 or 8 mice assigned to one corner to avoid competition | No | 7d, 12d | |
| Place preference reversal | PPLrev | Switch of rewarded corner to opposite side, relearn corner preference, the switch was to a spontaneously preferred corner | No | 6d, 7d | |
| Place avoidance acquisition | PAA | NP in one corner punished with air-puff, and doors remain closed in this corner, associated with red LED. Learn to avoid this corner | Air-puff | 1d | |
| Place avoidance extinction | PAEx | NP protocol, no restrictions, no air-puff, but corner assignment as during acquisition. Assess extinction of aversive memory | No | 5d | |
| Place preference Learning with side decision | PPL-SD | Water in only one corner on one side, randomizer determines “correct side”, correct NP opens door for 5 s, correct/incorrect sides switch after 50 correct visits, correct side is lit with green LED | No | 7d | |
| Place preference Reversal Learning with side Reversal | PPLrev-SDrev | Switch to opposite corner, incorrect side lit with red LED | No | 7d | |