Lick port and air puff

Lick port and air puff enable operant conditioning (positive stimulation and negative reinforcement) and whisker stimulation in the Mobile HomeCage devices.

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      Mice, like humans, need the motivation to behave. Liquid (for reward) and air puff (for punishment) are the simplest ways to stimulate mouse behavior in the Mobile HomeCage.

      Our lick port and air puff nozzles are flexible and compatible with all Mobile HomeCage models. Besides that: they are also compatible with a wide range of liquid and air dispensers. As not to increase the weight of the floating cage, we attach these accessories to the clamp. Since the lick port and air puff nozzles stay in the same place (i.e., in front of the mouse’s snout, whiskers or eye) throughout the entire experiment, mice learn to associate the reward and punishment with certain behaviors or certain locations. For automatic triggering, combine lick port and air puff with our magnetic locomotion tracking device, which can deliver liquid or air whenever the pre-set stimulus conditions are met.

      Main benefits

      • Lick port: water delivery for hydration during long experiments or for operant conditioning (positive stimulation) in the Mobile HomeCage;
      • Air puff for whisker stimulation or operant conditioning (negative reinforcement) in the Mobile HomeCage;
      • Manual or automated delivery (the latter enabled by the locomotion tracking software);
      • Quick and easy adjustment of the nozzle position to accommodate the mouse’s head size and position;
      • Compatible with most standard laboratory liquid and air dispensing devices.

      Features

      • Nozzle holder is adjustable along three axes (ball-joint and slider connection);
      • Four attachment points for nozzle holder on the clamp’s neck (for increased flexibility);
      • Attachment on either side of the clamp or on both sides simultaneously;
      • Tube holders attach to the bridge to keep the liquid/air hose out of the way.

      Requirements for liquid and air dispensers

      • Trigger input 3,3 V TTL (applies only if the lick port or air puff is used with Neurotar’s locomotion tracking hardware).
      • Typical liquid dispensing rate 250 µl/s (average droplet size 50 µl; build-up time 0,2 s)
      • Maximum air pressure 2 bar