Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technological Institute E311, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Department of Computer Science, Northwestern University, Seeley Mudd 3219, 2233 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Cell Rep. 2024 Feb 27;43(2):113671. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113671. Epub 2024 Jan 26.
Outside of the laboratory, animals behave in spaces where they can transition between open areas and coverage as they interact with others. Replicating these conditions in the laboratory can be difficult to control and record. This has led to a dominance of relatively simple, static behavioral paradigms that reduce the ethological relevance of behaviors and may alter the engagement of cognitive processes such as planning and decision-making. Therefore, we developed a method for controllable, repeatable interactions with others in a reconfigurable space. Mice navigate a large honeycomb lattice of adjustable obstacles as they interact with an autonomous robot coupled to their actions. We illustrate the system using the robot as a pseudo-predator, delivering airpuffs to the mice. The combination of obstacles and a mobile threat elicits a diverse set of behaviors, such as increased path diversity, peeking, and baiting, providing a method to explore ethologically relevant behaviors in the laboratory.
在实验室之外，动物在可以在开阔区域和遮蔽物之间转换的空间中活动，同时与其他动物互动。在实验室中复制这些条件可能难以控制和记录。这导致了相对简单、静态的行为范式占据主导地位，降低了行为的生态相关性，并可能改变规划和决策等认知过程的参与度。因此，我们开发了一种在可重新配置空间中与他人进行可控、可重复交互的方法。当老鼠与与它们的行为相耦合的自主机器人互动时，它们会在一个大型蜂窝状的可调节障碍物网格中导航。我们使用机器人作为拟态捕食者来演示该系统，向老鼠吹气。障碍物和移动威胁的组合引发了多种行为，例如增加路径多样性、窥视和诱饵，为在实验室中探索具有生态相关性的行为提供了一种方法。
