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Behavioral Control

A Complete Behavioral Neuroscience System

Description

Specs & Resources

Behavioral control experiments are an important tool in neuroscience research for studying decision-making, learning, addiction, conditioning, and much more. TDT’s iCon platform, with its modular hardware components, can handle all aspects of operant behavior: delivering rewards, detecting responses, controlling cues, and time stamping events with microsecond precision.

Operant behavior is also easy to pair with neural recordings such as fiber photometry or electrophysiology. TDT’s iCon system provides a complete, integrated solution for operant behavior control that synchronizes perfectly with neural recordings without any jitter or post-processing alignment.

Pynapse User Guide

iCon Behavioral Control Interface Manual

Intro to iCon and Pynapse: Part 1

Intro to iCon and Pynapse: Part 2

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BEHAVIORAL CONTROL WITH THE ICON

The iCon can be configured with any number of specialized modules for complete behavioral neuroscience recordings:

  • iH8/iH16: Output controllers for operant behavioral cage components (MedAssociates, Lafayette, Pan Labs, Harvard Apparatus)
  • iR5/iR10: Ifrared beam break interface for subject tracking
  • iS9: Aversive stimulation module for grid shock
  • iL24: Digital I/O for TTL signals and event time stamping
  • iMn: Analog I/O modules for speaker control and signal input capture

All modules integrate seamlessly with Synapse software for experiment design and real-time control.

iCon module list

Easy State Control with Pynapse

Behavior in Synapse

Pynapse is TDT’s Python-based state machine environment for designing operant behavior experiments. It provides a powerful yet intuitive framework for creating complex behavioral paradigms with real-time iCon module integration. Any paradigm that can be drawn out as a flow diagram can be easily coded in Pynapse. Users can trigger states based on inputs to iCon modules, such as a lever press, and jump to states based on conditional criteria such as timeouts, correct or incorrect nose pokes in response to a tone, and much more.

Key Pynapse features:

  • State-machine logic for behavioral paradigms
  • Real-time closed-loop control with neural signals
  • Built-in plotting and data visualization
  • Python scripting for unlimited flexibility
  • Seamless integration with Synapse recording

The iPac Behavioral Controller

High Recording Throughput

The iPac is a system for high throughput behavioral neuroscience, allowing you to run up to 8 behavioral experiments at the same time.

Manage all of your behavior boxes concurrently with independent behavioral paradigms. For example, control a self administration task in one chamber and a startle response in another.

Train subjects with the iPac and then seamlessly migrate your experimental animal to integrate with your fiber photometry or other neuroscience techniques, or scale up your behavioral neuroscience projects by running multiple paradigms and subjects at once.

The iCon Platform

Welcome to TDT’s exciting new step into the future of neuroscience hardware and behavioral control.

The iCon is a unique hardware and software platform designed for users to do build-out and perform any applications they need for their experiments all in one place.

 

Any module combination can be used to make an iCon, which means we can provide customers with a mix-and-match setup that provides broad coverage for many experimental designs but no redundancies. This also means that you get the most value out of your system for the lowest cost.

 

TDT currently has over 20 modules available to perform operant control, fiber photometry, low and high channel count electrophysiology, video tracking, sound presentation, aversive stimulation, general digital and analog input/output (IO), and many other neuroscience tasks. We are also constantly designing new modules for future additions to the platform.

 

Plus, teaching new students to use the equipment is streamlined and easy. But if you need any help, our dedicated support team are with you every step of the way at no extra cost. Lastly, everything is controlled, time-synchronized, and saved by our Synapse software, so you can design experiments and record multi-faceted data with no extra hassle.

 

Choose TDT for Your
Neuroscience Research

TDT Neuroscience Research Hardware and Software Team

Every system is designed and assembled at our headquarters in Alachua, Florida by our long-time employees.

Trusted in labs since 1988, TDT is the only Neuroscience Equipment and Software provider that offers:

  • 5-Year Warranty (2-Year warranty on all LUX pods, cables, and headstages)
  • Extended Warranty Options
  • Free Lifetime Technical Support
  • Tech Support provided by Ph.D. Level Scientists
 

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Or email us at sales@tdt.com

 

 

All images of animals include artwork (modified or otherwise) from BioRender.