Title: Standard Operating Procedure – Autoshaping
Author: MouseTRAP Team
Date: 02/14/2019
Version: 1
Abstract: The autoshaping task is used to asses Pavlovian approach learning that heavily relies on the reward system centred on the ventral striatum. This classical conditioning procedure consist of the presentation of a stimulus on either the left or right side of the reward tray. One side is followed by the delivery of a food reward (CS+) but not the other side (CS-; see Figure 1). The reward delivery is independent of the mouse approaching or touching the screen. The autoshaping task is useful to study behaviours relevant to Pavlovian associative learning, such as approaches to the screen (sign-tracking) and to the reward tray (goal-tracking), as well as explore underlying neural circuitry and its mechanisms relevant to stimulus-reinforcer learning and drug-addiction.
DOI: 10.58064/5cvm-4×84
Link to Full SOP: mAutoS-v1
Please login or register to request access to the PDF.
Please note that the ABETII file names in the SOPs may differ across different users and facilities. Full SOPs are available to members of touchscreencognition.org.
Version Notes
[DATE]: Version [#]
- Adjusted the After reward pause from 5s to 10s
- Reasoning is explained at the end of the SOP, but was based on fibre photometry recordings that demonstrated mice needed more time to baseline
- Included an additional formula for more data we can analyze: Premature Responses
- Added another method to run the stimulus duration probe
- Clarified details about the Inter Trial Interval
- Specifically, we made it clearer that the ITI is variable, rather than a constant duration between each trial