Magazine Training

Magazine training is used in operational conditioning to familiarize an animal with the mechanisms used for testing. In this case, we wanted to train the voles to press levers. The test animal was placed on the side of the chamber that gave access to a food dispenser and its partner was placed on the other side, separated by an automatic door. One lever would then reward the animal by dispensing food and the other lever would open the door so it could be reunited with its partner. The control for this system was initially prototyped using Arduino but then evolved to use Raspberry Pi.

Main Components

retractable Levers

Servo-actuated levers are used in this system to start the food dispenser and automatic door. They are extruded into the system when active and retracted when inactive. These are comprised of a switch, micro-servo motor, machined aluminum, and 3D printed ABS.

food dispenser

The food dispenser is used as a reward for pressing a lever, dispensing a single pellet at a time. Pellets are tracked using an IR transmitter and receiver in the trough, indicating and timestamping when they are dispensed and when they are retrieved. This is comprised of a servo motor, IR transmitter and receiver, and 3D printed ABS.

automatic door

The automatic door is used as an alternative reward for pressing a lever. Opening the door provides the test animal access to his or her partner. This is operated by a servo motor and a rack and pinion gear set.