title: Locomotor activity registration by passive infrared detection in saddle back tamarins and tree shrews.
abstract: Locomotor activities of tamarins and tree shrews were monitored using a passive infrared detector (PID) and a small hand-held computer as a recording unit. It is a low-cost system, easy to install and to handle without any disturbing effects on the animals investigated. Recording activity is not limited to specific sites in the cage. A temporal resolution of about two seconds for activity detection will meet most experimental requirements. The method was validated by a comparison of PID-recorded signals with simultaneous behavioral observations using a video-recorder. PID is highly specific, detecting only those movements which involve a change in location. The recording system can be adapted to various experimental conditions or other mammalian species.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiology, German Primate Center, Göttingen.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lerchl
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Küderling
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurre
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002143:Callitrichinae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007259:Infrared Rays / Q000295:instrumentation; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D014418:Tupaiidae / Q000502:physiology*