Knowledge Base

Conduct Maze Integration with Noldus Ethovision

Maze Engineers software ConductMaze is a light-weight adapter to video tracking software (Noldus EthoVision) to control the execution of Fear Conditioning.

Experiment Setup in Ethovision

In EthoVision, create an External Command Action with a name. In the "Select program to run", choose MazeController.exe and in the "Command line options", add open command(s) like D10. The options represent an action to open a door or close a door or dispense a pellet or a combo action. The following examples show some user configuration setups:

• Example 1: MazeController.exe c=1,t=1,v=50,d=5,f=1000
• Example 2: MazeController.exe c=1,t=5,v=1,d=5,m=0.4

Example 1 will send a command to start a tone of a specified frequency for a duration of 5 seconds at a volume level of 50. Example 2 will send a command to start a shock for a duration of 5 seconds at a current level of 0.4mA.

Command Parameters

Command parameters for EthoVision video tracking:

• c: Chamber — 1, 2, 3, or 4
• t: Message type
  • 1 — Frequency tone
  • 2 — Light
  • 5 — Shock
  • 6 — White noise
  • 7 — User sound file
• v: Volume — 0 to 100
• d: Duration — 0 to 180
• f: Frequency — 100 to 18000

Frequency Tone

• Type: t=1
• Start Command Example: c=1,t=1,v=50,d=5,f=1000
• Stop Command: c=1,t=1,v=0

Light

• Type: t=2
• Start Command Example: c=1,t=2,v=30,d=5
• Stop Command: c=1,t=2,v=0

Shock

• Type: t=5
• Start Command Example: c=1,t=5,v=1,d=5,m=0.4
• Stop Command: c=1,t=5,v=0

White Noise

• Type: t=6
• Start Command Example: c=1,t=6,v=50,d=10
• Stop Command: c=1,t=6,v=0

User Sound File

• Type: t=7
• Start Command Example: c=1,t=7,v=50
• Stop Command: c=1,t=7,v=0

Note that , is the separator and there is no space between parameters.

A command can be a single command or a composite one. A composite command is composed of individual commands separated by ;. For example, the composite command c=1,t=5,v=1,d=5,m=0.4;c=1,t=1,v=50,d=5,f=1000 will instruct the fear conditioning system to deliver a shock to chamber 1 and simultaneously play a tone on chamber 1.

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - THC - Trial and Hardware Control, Noldus Information Technology