Fully autonomous cognitive behavioral training for free moving mouse in home-cage

Mouse is extensively utilized as model animal in neuroscience, due to abundant tools available for studying the brain. However, the cognitive behavioral repertoire of mice remains poor and the training process is always inefficient and inconsistent. In this paper, we propose a home-cage assisted behavioral innovation and training system (HABITS), which enables mice to undergo training in their living home-cage without any constraint and human intervention. Utilizing cost-effective components, wireless data transmission, and a microcontroller-based general programming framework, we have constructed more than 100 setups of HABITS which could run in parallel. As a demonstration, we successfully trained 16 mice to perform a tone frequency discrimination task with or without delay. Remarkably, all mice achieved performance level of 75% in several days. Subsequently, we further demonstrated the universality and stability of the system by successfully parallel-training 30 mice on delay-based paradigms involving perceptual discrimination with a combination of visual, auditory and spatial modalities. In conclusion, we show that this system introduces a novel approach to train cognitive behaviors in mouse model, with the potential of enhancing animal welfare, reducing experimental personnel noise, and promoting the discovery of more challenging mouse cognitive behavioral paradigms.