The automated mouse reaching chamber allows researchers to simultaneously measure motor behavior, cognitive processing and motivation.

Motor Behavior: Skilled forepaw reaching behaviors are required to retrieve pellets from the food hopper.

• The gap between the pellet hopper and chamber discourages "scooping" behavior and encourages pellet grasping.
• Infrared recording accurately quantifies reach attempts as well as latency.
• Reach attempts exceeding the number of pellets removed from the hopper indicates unsuccessful attempts.
• Pellets removed or scooped from the hopper but dropped outside of the chamber into a drop pan indicate pellets grasped but not retrieved.
• Pellets that drop through the grid-floor into the waste pan indicate pellets successfully retrieved but not eaten

Cognitive Processing: Two reaching holes on opposite walls allow researchers to alternate baited and non-baited hoppers within or between trials.

• Walls may be marked for visually cued cognitive tasks.
• Latency measures and non-baited hopper reach attempts are used to assess cognitive deficits.

Motivation: Latency measures from chamber introduction to the first reach attempt indicates motivation to retrieve pellets.

19.0" x 9.0" x 7.3"

8.0" x 4.4" x 4.6"

Fully adjustable from 0.125" to 2.00"

End Walls - 0.032" Stainless Steel

Side Walls  0.188" Clear Polycarbonate

Lid - 0.188" Clear Polycarbonate

Hoppers - Delrin with Stainless Steel Walls

Pellet Drop Pans - 0.032" Stainless Steel

Waste Pan - 0.032" Stainless Steel

Grid Rods - Stainless Steel