CN106900588A - A kind of device and method for the training of macaque pull bar trophic behaviour - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a device and method for training rod-feeding behavior of macaques. The first computer is provided with a data acquisition card, which links to each other with the stepping motor driver board, and the said stepper motor driver board links to each other with the said stepping motor driver, and the said data acquisition card links to each other with the acquisition control board, and said acquisition control The boards are respectively connected with the solenoid valve water supply device and the second computer, and the second computer is connected with the eye tracker. The device of the present invention is easy to operate, and can design an efficient training paradigm; has no pain, no negative effects, and no artificial interference; can realize automatic training; has a variety of reward options; can record experimental data for subsequent analysis; the key Parameters can be modified to facilitate custom experimental paradigms.

Description

A device and method for training rod-feeding behavior of macaques

technical field

The invention relates to an experimental training device, in particular to a device and method for training rod-feeding behavior of macaques.

Background technique

In neuroscience research, non-human primates are usually used to carry out scientific research on some aspects of physiology, behavior and cognition. Compared with other non-primates, they have a higher evolutionary stage, and their functions, The structure and response are also close to human beings, making it an ideal animal very suitable for experiments. In neuroscience research, in order to study the function of neurons related to certain functions, non-human primates are usually required to complete some prescribed actions, such as stretching, pushing, pulling and touching. However, non-human primates are feral and are very prone to emotions such as panic, fear and even anger. Therefore, common compulsive, inductive, stimulating and even punitive training methods are often ineffective. In addition, these methods usually require people to accompany animals, which not only affects animal training, but also costs manpower and material resources.

The training method that uses rewards as incentives is a relatively popular method in the field at present. Rewards usually include things like food, juice and water. In order to achieve a better training effect, fasting or water deprivation is required before animal training. However, these methods have drawbacks. In terms of food rewards, animals are easy to satisfy, and it is not easy to carry out experiments for a long time; in terms of fruit juice rewards, animals feel bored with the fruit juice that has been used many times, and giving fruit juice for a long time will easily make animals suffer from diseases such as diabetes; in terms of water rewards, because Drinking water needs to be restricted. If the water restriction is not well controlled, it is easy to cause health problems in animals. The combination of multiple reward training methods can avoid the above situation.

Therefore, a complete system is needed to realize an automatic training method that can perform multiple types of rewards. The system allows the animal to bear the least impact, so as to obtain better training effect.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for training macaque rod-drawing behavior.

A device for training rod-feeding behavior of macaques, the first computer 1 is provided with a data acquisition card 2, the data acquisition card 2 is connected to the acquisition control board 5, and the acquisition control board 5 is respectively connected to the solenoid valve water supply device 6 is connected with the second computer 7, the second computer 7 is connected with the eye tracker 8 and the acquisition control board 5, and the first computer 1 is also connected with the stepper motor drive board 3, and the stepper motor The driving board 3 is connected with the stepping motor driving device 4 .

The first computer 1 is also connected to the first display 9 and the second display 10 respectively.

The structure of the stepping motor driving device 4 is as follows: the data line of the stepping motor driving board 3 is connected to the control circuit board, the control circuit board is connected to the stepping motor, the stepping motor is connected to the food push rod, and the food push rod is connected to the food push rod. The rails are connected, and the food rail is connected to the food trough.

The control circuit board structure of the stepping motor driver 4 is as follows: the stepping motor control interface 11 is connected with the storage battery 12, and the storage battery 12 is connected with the single-chip microcomputer 13, and the single-chip microcomputer 13 is connected with the indicator light 14 and the RS232 serial port 15 respectively.

The structure of the solenoid valve water supply device 6 is as follows: the collection control board 5 is connected to the solenoid valve, the solenoid valve is connected to the conduit A and the conduit B respectively, the conduit A is connected to the faucet, and the conduit B is connected to the water bottle.

The data acquisition card 2 is also connected with the pull bar and the DA card.

Described device also comprises visual feedback and detection system, comprises: camera, tripod, video capture card, DA card and second computer 7; Wherein video capture card and DA card are installed in the second computer 7, camera is arranged on the tripod, And connect with the video capture card.

The data acquisition card 2 is an NI data acquisition card.

A kind of method that is used for macaque rod-drawing behavior training, carries out according to the following steps:

(1) After the training thread is started, the monkey test process is started. For each round of tests, the parameters of the current round of tests are firstly adjusted, that is, random variables are initialized, and the screen is initialized;

(2) The screen is in a black state, waiting for the monkey to pull the lever;

(3) After the monkey pulls the lever, a colored dot appears and disappears after a period of time;

(4) White dots appear on the screen, and the color gradually becomes darker. During the process, if the monkey loosens the stick, it means the training is successful and enters the training stimulation link;

(5) Training stimuli include: water rewards, stepper movement, and picture stimulation;

(6) Statistical data, including test training times, current round of test parameters, results, and time for monkeys to pull and loosen the bar;

(7) Judging whether the training is over, if not, proceed to the next round of testing.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: (1) the operation is simple, and an efficient training paradigm can be designed; (2) no pain, no negative impact, no artificial interference; (3) automatic training can be realized; (4) There are a variety of reward options; (4) Experimental data can be recorded for subsequent analysis; (5) Key parameters can be modified to facilitate customizing the experimental paradigm.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the structural representation of training device of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the schematic diagram of stepper motor driving circuit of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is the schematic diagram of the acquisition control board of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a training paradigm utilizing training device design of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a stepper motor drive device;

Fig. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of a solenoid valve water supply device;

In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the following reference numerals are marked thereon:

1-first computer, 2-data acquisition card, 3-stepper motor driver board, 4-stepper motor driver, 5-acquisition control board, 6-solenoid valve water supply device, 7-second computer, 8-eye Dynamic instrument, 9-first display, 10-second display, 11-stepping motor control interface, 12-battery isolation, 13-single-chip microcomputer, 14-indicator light, 15-RS232 serial port.

detailed description

The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments.

A kind of device that is used for macaque rod-drawing behavior training, as shown in Figure 1, is provided with data acquisition card 2 in the first computer 1, and described data acquisition card 2 links to each other with acquisition control board 5, and described acquisition control board 5 They are respectively connected to the solenoid valve water supply device 6 and the second computer 7, the second computer 7 is connected to the eye tracker 8 and the acquisition control board 5, and the first computer 1 is also connected to the stepping motor drive board 3 , the stepping motor driving board 3 is connected with the stepping motor driving device 4 . The first computer 1 is also connected to the first display 9 and the second display 10 respectively. The working principle of the acquisition control board 5 is shown in FIG. 3 .

As shown in Figure 5, the structure of the stepping motor driving device 4 is: the data line of the stepping motor driving board 3 is connected to the control circuit board, the control circuit board is connected to the stepping motor, and the stepping motor is connected to the food push rod , the food push rod is connected with the food guide rail, and the food guide rail is connected with the food groove.

As shown in Figure 2, the control circuit board structure of described stepping motor driving device 4 is as follows: stepping motor control interface 11 is connected with storage battery 12, and described storage battery 12 is connected with single-chip microcomputer 13, and described single-chip microcomputer 13 is connected with indicator light 14 respectively and RS232 serial port 15.

As shown in Figure 6, the structure of the solenoid valve water supply device 6 is as follows: the collection control board 5 is connected to the solenoid valve, the solenoid valve is connected to the conduit A and the conduit B respectively, the conduit A is connected to the faucet, and the conduit B Attaches to water bottle.

The data acquisition card 2 is also connected with the pull bar and the DA card.

Described device also comprises visual feedback and detection system, comprises: camera, tripod, video capture card, DA card and second computer 7; Wherein video capture card and DA card are installed in the second computer 7, camera is arranged on the tripod, And connect with the video capture card.

The data acquisition card 2 is an NI data acquisition card.

The device is divided into a training outdoor part and a training indoor part. The part of the training room is mainly used for experimenter monitoring and operation. Among them, the data acquisition card 2 is used to collect the state of the pull rod and the eyeball position of the macaque. In addition, it can also send the control signals of the solenoid valve switch, the signal synchronization lamp and the stepping motor; in addition, the experimental control program is also installed in the first computer 1 for the experiment. Process control and experimental parameter control; the second computer 7 is used to collect the eye movement information of macaques, and convert the eye movement information into analog signals through the DA card. The part of the training room mainly includes the acquisition control board, the solenoid valve water supply device, the eye tracker, the display, the stepper movement device and the stepper drive board. Its collection and control board is mainly used for line sorting, and the cables for pull rod, eye movement, solenoid valve control, indicator light control and stepper control are centralized and made into standard RS232 or coaxial cable interfaces for easy plugging and unplugging; The valve water supply device is controlled by the control signal output by the NI data acquisition card from the acquisition control board, and is mainly used for water or juice supply; the stepper motor movement device is controlled by the stepper drive board, and is used for fixed-step advancement, mainly Used for food rewards; the eye tracker is mainly used to collect images of primate eyeballs, which are input into the computer 2 at a speed of 30 frames per second for calculating the position of primate eyeballs.

As shown in Figure 4, a kind of method that is used for macaque rod-drawing behavior training is carried out according to the following steps:

(1) After the training thread is started, the monkey test process is started. For each round of tests, the parameters of the current round of tests are firstly adjusted, that is, random variables are initialized, and the screen is initialized;

(2) The screen is in a black state, waiting for the monkey to pull the lever;

(3) After the monkey pulls the lever, a colored dot appears and disappears after a period of time;

(4) White dots appear on the screen, and the color gradually becomes darker. During the process, if the monkey loosens the stick, it means the training is successful and enters the training stimulation link;

(5) Training stimuli include: water rewards, stepper movement, and picture stimulation;

(6) Statistical data, including test training times, current round test parameters, results, time for the monkey to pull the bar and loosen the bar;

(7) Judging whether the training is over, if not, proceed to the next round of testing.

The above disclosures are only specific embodiments of the present invention, however, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes conceivable by those skilled in the art shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. a kind of device that is used for macaque rod-drawing behavior training, is characterized in that, is provided with data acquisition card (2) in the first computer (1), and described data acquisition card (2) and acquisition control panel (5) The acquisition control board (5) is connected with the solenoid valve water supply device (6) and the second computer (7) respectively, and the second computer (7) is connected with the eye tracker (8) and the acquisition control board (5) are connected, the first computer (1) is also connected with the stepping motor driving board (3), and the stepping motor driving board (3) is connected with the stepping motor driving device (4). 2 . The device for training macaque rod-drawing behavior according to claim 1 , characterized in that, the first computer ( 1 ) is also connected to the first display ( 9 ) and the second display ( 10 ) respectively. 3 . 3. the device for macaque rod-taking behavior training according to claim 1, is characterized in that, the structure of described stepping motor driving device (4) is: the data line of stepping motor driving plate (3) and The control circuit board is connected, the control circuit board is connected with the stepping motor, the stepping motor is connected with the food push rod, the food push rod is connected with the food guide rail, and the food guide rail is connected with the food tank. 4. the device for the macaque rod-drawing behavior training according to claim 3, is characterized in that, the control circuit board structure of described stepper motor driver (4) is as follows: stepper motor control interface (11) and Storage battery (12) links to each other, and described storage battery (12) links to each other with single-chip microcomputer (13), and described single-chip microcomputer (13) is connected with indicator light (14) and RS232 serial port (15) respectively. 5. according to claim 1, be used for the device of macaque draw bar feeding behavior training, it is characterized in that, the structure of described electromagnetic valve water supply device (6) is: collection control board (5) links to each other with electromagnetic valve, and electromagnetic valve They are respectively connected with conduit A and conduit B, the conduit A is connected with the water nozzle, and the conduit B is connected with the water bottle. 6 . The device for training macaque rod-feeding behavior according to claim 1 , characterized in that, the data acquisition card ( 2 ) is also connected to the rod and the DA card. 7 . 7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device also includes a visual feedback and detection system, comprising: a camera, a tripod, a video capture card, a DA card and a second Computer (7); Wherein video capture card and DA card are installed in the second computer (7), camera is arranged on the tripod, and is connected with video capture card. 8. The device for training rod-feeding behavior of macaques according to claim 1, characterized in that the data acquisition card (2) is an NI data acquisition card. 9. A method for training macaque rod-drawing behavior, characterized in that, it is carried out according to the following steps: (1) After the training thread is started, the monkey test process is started. For each round of tests, the parameters of the current round of tests are firstly adjusted, that is, random variables are initialized, and the screen is initialized; (2) The screen is in a black state, waiting for the monkey to pull the lever; (3) After the monkey pulls the lever, a colored dot appears and disappears after a period of time; (4) White dots appear on the screen, and the color gradually becomes darker. During the process, if the monkey loosens the stick, it means the training is successful and enters the training stimulation link; (5) Training stimuli include: water rewards, stepper movement, and picture stimulation; (6) Statistical data, including test training times, current round of test parameters, results, and time for monkeys to pull and loosen the bar; (7) Judging whether the training is over, if not, proceed to the next round of testing.