PhenoTyper

Resources

The many uses of the PhenoTyper

Because of its customizability, the PhenoTyper is a great fit for many types of behavioral research. Some of these applications are detailed below. However, there are many more uses besides these ones. Contact us to see whether or not the PhenoTyper can enhance your behavioral research, or watch some of the webinars to see why testing in a home cage is important.

 


PhenoTyper and social interaction

PhenoTyper is perfect to study social interaction in great detail. You can even prompt stimuli responding to animal behavior. For example, release a food reward when animals are in the same area together, or when they both press a lever. This protocol can easily be automated with EthoVision XT.


ethovision social interaction integrated visualization 
 


PhenoTyper running wheel rat

PhenoTyper and operant conditioning

PhenoTyper is ideal for operant conditioning tests: in combination with EthoVision XT, procotols are easily automated. For example, switch on a light when your mouse enters a zone, give the rat a food reward after a lever press, or switch on the brake of the Activity wheel after a number of rotations. There are a large number of operant modules that can be connected to the PhenoTyper cage, for example to automatically apply an air puff or give a food reward.

 


PhenoTyper and anxiety testing

You can use mild aversive stimuli for anxiety testing in PhenoTyper. You can, for example, automatically switch on a light when your animal enters a certain zone or illuminate the food hopper in the dark period when the animal has been eating or drinking for a certain time. But you can also equip PhenoTyper with an illuminated shelter that can be controlled with EthoVision XT’s Trial & Hardware Control Module. This way a light can switch on automatically when the animal enters the shelter, or chooses a specific shelter entrance. You can extend your setup with other TTL-based hardware. This way you can adjust your anxiety tests entirely to your needs.

PhenoTyper areas defined anxiety research
 


Study anxiety and depression using PhenoTyper cages

Dr. Thomas Prévôt from the University of Toronto uses the PhenoTyper to induce an acute stress response, in order to assess anxiety-like and depressive-like behavior in rodents.

Watch the video to learn more about why he chooses Noldus' tools.

 
 


Download our product overview

Neuroscience (interactive)

An overview of our tools for behavioral neuroscience in rodents.

 

Webinars

Lessons From The Core: Longitudinal Assessment vs. Point Sampling of Behaviors in Mice

Join Lior Bikovski and Shivang Parikh from Tel-Aviv University for a presentation on longitudinal behavioral studies and how to optimize the use of home cage monitoring (HCM) systems for behavioral research.

Long term rodent studies in neuroscience

In this talk, we investigate how animal research can be extended in to long-term observations, following the path human research has entered for some time already which resulted in great new insights.

 


Other related stories and product videos

Using PhenoTyper for longitudinal studies

Dr. Do Rego, University of Rouen, France

Study anxiety and depression to transform mental health care

Dr. Thomas Prévôt, University of Toronto, Canada

Optogenetics and PhenoTyper

How to use PhenoTyper

 

References

Here's a selection of recent publications with PhenoTyper. Let us know if you want your publication to be added at [email protected]!

 

 



Recent blog posts

Testing without stress: high-throughput phenotyping

Testing without stress: high-throughput phenotyping

The ability to recognize harmful situations and respond accurately is important for the survival of any animal. In order to respond to these situations the animal must be able to learn, remember, and alter its behavior.
A to Z on optogenetics and video tracking studies

A to Z on optogenetics and video tracking studies

Optogenetics allow researchers to either activate or inhibit neurons in the brain. To see how this affects behavior, you need to record that behavior and synchronize it with the stimulation. Here's how.
The do’s and don’ts in behavioral testing: improve your open field test

The do’s and don’ts in behavioral testing: improve your open field test

Scientists have been performing open field tests for quite some time now. Over the years it has become one of the most popular tests in rodent behavioral research. So what’s not to love?