title: Operant avoidance learning in crayfish, Orconectes rusticus: Computational ethology and the development of an automated learning paradigm.
abstract: Research in crustaceans offers a valuable perspective for studying the neural implementation of conserved behavioral phenomena, including motivation, escape, aggression, and drug-sensitive reward. The present work adds to this literature by demonstrating that crayfish successfully learn to respond to spatially contingent cues. An integrated video-tracking system automatically delivered a mild electric shock when a test animal entered or remained on a substrate paired with punishment. Following a few instances of shock delivery, crayfish quickly learned to avoid these areas. Comparable changes in substrate preference were not exhibited by yoked controls, but locomotion differed significantly from both pre-conditioning levels and from those of their masters receiving shock in a contingent fashion. The results of this work provide valuable insights into the principles governing avoidance learning in an invertebrate system and provide a behavioral template for exploring the neural changes during associative learning. Serving as a case study, this project introduces a new computer framework for the automated control of learning paradigms. Based on routines contained within the JavaGrinders library (free download at iEthology.com), it integrates real-time video tracking with robotic interfaces, and provides a suitable framework for implementing automated learning paradigms.
authors.affiliation: J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind & Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Life Sciences Building, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
authors.forename: Rohan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhimani
authors.affiliation: J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind & Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Life Sciences Building, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA. rh.bgsu@gmail.com.|Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA. rh.bgsu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003400:Astacoidea; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003463:Cues; D005010:Ethology
keywords: Crustacea; Electroshock punishment; Instrumental learning; Operant place conditioning