To use a switch input in tests you will need to add an on/off input to your protocol and select the switch input port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off input's port to use. ANY-maze will then register each activation of the switch during your tests.

If you want switch activations to trigger some action (for example, to dispense a food pellet), then you should add a procedure to your protocol to do this.

Using TTL input ports

To use a TTL input in tests, you will need to add an on/off input to your protocol and select the TTL input port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off input's port to use. ANY-maze will then register each activation of the TTL input during your tests.

If you want TTL input activations to trigger some action (for example, to switch on a light), then you should add a procedure to your protocol to do this.

Using switch output ports

To use a switch output in tests, you will need to add an on/off output to your protocol and select the switch output port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off output's port to use.

Usually you will want to activate the output when some specific situation arises during the test. For example, the output might control a shocker that you want to turn on 30 seconds after the test begins. Whatever it is you want to do, you will need to:

•

Add a procedure to your protocol

•

Set up the procedure to determine when the situation occurs

•

Include an Action statement in the procedure to activate the output

Using TTL output ports

To use a TTL output in tests, you will need to add an on/off output to your protocol and select the TTL output port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off output's port to use.

Usually you will want to activate the output when some specific situation arises during the test. For example, the output might control a cue light that you want to turn on 30 seconds after the test begins; or the output might control a pellet dispenser that you want to activate whenever the animal presses a lever 3 times in rapid succession. Whatever it is you want to do, you will need to:

•

Add a procedure to your protocol

•

Set up the procedure to determine when the situation occurs

•

Include an Action statement in the procedure to activate the output

Using photobeam ports

To use a photobeam in tests, you will need to add an on/off input to your protocol and select the photobeam port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off input's port to use. ANY-maze will then register each break of the photobeam during your tests.

If you want photobeam breaks to trigger some action (for example, to start a syringe pump), then you should add a procedure to your protocol to do this.

Using rotary encoder ports

To use a rotary encoder in tests, you will need to add a rotary encoder to your protocol and select the rotary encoder port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the rotary encoder's port to use. ANY-maze will then register turns of the encoder during your tests.

Using photobeam array ports

If you want to determine when an animal breaks a photobeam array during tests, for example to detect rearing, then you will need to add an on/off input to your protocol and select the photobeam array port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the on/off input's port to use. ANY-maze will then register each break of the array (as a whole) during your tests.

If you want use a photobeam array to quantify the animal's movement during tests, then you will need to add a movement detector to your protocol* and select the photobeam array port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the movement detector's port to use. ANY-maze will then register each break of the individual beams during your tests, and will report such things as the number of breaks and the amount of time the animal was moving.

*It is only possible to add movement detectors to protocols that are NOT using a video tracking mode.

Using pellet dispenser ports in tests

To use a pellet dispenser in tests, you will need to add a Pellet dispenser to your protocol, and then select the port on the ANY-maze Digital interface that the pellet dispenser is connected to as the port to use. You can then use a procedure to activate the pellet dispenser (and thus dispense a pellet) during your tests.

Using selector ports

To use a selector in tests, you will need to add a selector to your protocol and select the selector port on the ANY-maze Digital interface as the selector's port to use. You can then use a procedure to control the selector during your tests.

Using the ANY-maze Digital interface in tests

Introduction

Using switch input ports in tests