Knowledge Base

Steps in Ethovision

Installing Sylics Ethovision Protocols

1. Import the backup file (e.g. CognitionWall.evz) you received from Sylics by opening Ethovision and selecting "Restore backup" (see the Ethovision manual for details).
2. Save the experiment in a safe location (i.e. Noldus/Experiments/Templates).

Running Experiments Using Sylics Ethovision Protocols

1. Each protocol has its own procedure. Please check the "Running Sylics Protocols" section which procedure applies for your experiment. The steps below apply to all protocols.
2. If you are using hardware controlled by an IO-box, continue with the steps below. If you don't have an IO box connected, continue with step 5 and ignore step 10.
3. Check if the IO boxes are detected by opening a previous experiment, select "Experiment Settings" in the left panel, and click on the settings button under "Trial Control Hardware". If the IO box is not detected it will show "No device connected", otherwise it will show "IO box #".
4. If the IO box is not detected, close, and then restart Ethovision and repeat step 3. If the IO box is detected, close the experiment and continue with step 5.
5. On the main screen of Ethovision, select "New from template", select the template and type a name for the new experiment (instructions provided on-screen).
6. Select "Experiment Settings", and check if your camera settings are correct. These can be different for each PhenoTyper (edit and check by clicking on the camera icon).
7. Check detection settings in order to correctly track your animals. These settings are located under "Detection Settings" in the left panel. Sylics has provided two detection settings (for dark and light animals).
8. The image quality should be set to 14.9850 samples per second for NTSC set-ups, and ~12 for PAL set-ups. This setting can be found in "Detection Settings" in the right panel, under "Video".
9. It is recommended to create a new background image for each experiment. A new background image can be created by selecting the detection setting (dark or light) and clicking Advanced → Background. See the Ethovision manual for details.
10. Test the communication between the software and hardware (Arena Settings → Arena – Hardware Mapping). Click on a PhenoTyper and click "Test". A hardware testing tool opens. See the Ethovision manual for details.
11. Make sure that the zones are defined correctly and that these are at the right positions for each trial control setting you want to use. See example zone definitions at the bottom of this document.
12. If everything is ready to go, open the trial list and fill out the information of the mice. Insert the PH number assigned to the mice and optionally an ID (can be text or numeric) of the PhenoTyper you are using. When ready to start, go to "Acquisition" and set the method to "Track next planned trial". Place the mice into the PhenoTyper and press start (red button).
13. EthoVision version 11.0 and below: If you are using the pellet dispenser for your test (i.e. with the CognitionWall), make sure you select the third tab ("Dependent Variables"), which you can find under the red button. If you don't select this tab it is not possible to check the number of pellets earned, as it will show zero pellets dropped. The counter only works when this tab is selected (see "Running the CognitionWall Protocol" below).

Analyzing Your Data Using AHCODA

1. Go to Data Profiles → Corresponding Data Profile (i.e. if you ran a CognitionWall experiment, click on "Wall") on the left side of Ethovision and make sure the selection shown in the "Result" box is the number of tracks you expect. If this is not the case, a filter might be selected, or the data was not recorded. Please check the Ethovision manual for details.
2. Click on "Raw Data" on the left side of Ethovision and make sure the boxes on top are set to the same data export options as used during the experiment (these are the Smoothing Profile, Data Profile and Analysis Profile).
3. Check all the check boxes (Track & Dependent Variables, Trial Control Log, Hardware Log).
4. Set the destination folder to the folder where the data should be stored. Using the default option is recommended (i.e. Experiment folder/Export Files).
5. Set file type to Unicode text (default) and Delimiter to semicolon (;).
6. Press Start Export. This can take a while.
7. When finished, start the AHCODACloudConnect application, select the folder where you just exported the data, and press "Upload". The data will now be transferred to the Sylics analysis servers.
8. When finished uploading, the progress of your data analysis is shown on your personal website on the "Admin & Mouse Database" page.
9. If mice were not added to the database before the start of an experiment, new mice are added without any information. The information of each mouse can be edited afterwards. This is not recommended.

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