Operant conditioning chamber

Manufactured by Harvard Apparatus

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Operant conditioning chambers, also known as Skinner boxes, are lab equipment designed to study and train animal behavior. These chambers provide a controlled environment where animals can perform specific actions, such as pressing a lever or pecking a key, to receive a reward or avoid a consequence. The core function of these chambers is to enable researchers to observe and analyze the behavioral patterns that emerge from this type of operant conditioning.

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Lab products found in correlation

Model h10 11r tc sf, by Harvard Apparatus (3 mentions) Freezeframe2, by Harvard Apparatus (3 mentions) Model wvbp334, by Panasonic (2 mentions) Med pc 4, by Med Associates (1 mentions) Freezeframe, by Harvard Apparatus (1 mentions)

Spelling variants of this product

Conditioning chambers (22 citations) Operant chambers (17 citations) Standard operant conditioning chambers (4 citations) Standard modular operant conditioning chambers (3 citations)

8 protocols using operant conditioning chamber

Contextual Fear Conditioning Protocol

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All experimental manipulations (fear conditioning, retrieval, extinction, reinstatement, reinstatement probe) were administered in the same context (operant conditioning chambers; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Each chamber was equipped with a stainless-steel rod flooring connected to a shock generator (Model H10-11R-TC-SF; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA) and individually enclosed in a sound-insulated box (Isolation Cubicle, Model H10-24T; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Chambers were illuminated with a red light. Behavior was recorded by infrared digital cameras (Panasonic, model wvBP334, Osaka, Japan) mounted on the ceiling of each unit. Stimulus presentation was automated using FreezeFrame2 software (Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Equipment was cleaned with Windex (SC Johnson, Racine, WI) between each session.

Auchter A.M., Shumake J., Gonzalez-Lima F, & Monfils M.H. (2017). Preventing the return of fear using reconsolidation updating and methylene blue is differentially dependent on extinction learning. Scientific Reports, 7, 46071.

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Operant Conditioning in Soundproof Chambers

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Training and tests were conducted in operant conditioning chambers (Coulbourn Instruments) housed in sound isolation chambers as previously described^{23 (link)}.

Betley J.N., Xu S., Cao Z.F., Gong R., Magnus C.J., Yu Y, & Sternson S.M. (2015). Neurons for hunger and thirst transmit a negative-valence teaching signal. Nature, 521(7551), 180-185.

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Fear Conditioning and Long-Term Memory

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All experimental manipulations (fear conditioning, extinction, long-term memory) were administered in the same context (operant conditioning chambers; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Each chamber was equipped with a stainless-steel rod flooring connected to a shock generator (Model H10–11R-TC-SF; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA) and individually enclosed in a sound-insulated box (Isolation Cubicle, Model H10–24T; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Chambers were illuminated with a red light. Behavior was recorded by infrared digital cameras (Panasonic, model wvBP334, Osaka, Japan) mounted on the ceiling of each unit. Stimulus presentation was automated using FreezeFrame2 software (Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA). Equipment was cleaned with Windex (SC Johnson, Racine, WI) between each session.

Monfils M., Lee H., Keller N., Roquet R., Quevedo S., Agee L., Cofresi R, & Shumake J. (2018). Predicting extinction phenotype to optimize fear reduction. Psychopharmacology, 236(1), 99-110.

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Rodent Fear Conditioning Protocol

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All experimental manipulations (fear conditioning, extinction, fear expression) were administered in the same context (operant conditioning chambers; Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA, USA). Chambers were equipped with stainless-steel rod floor bottoms connected to a shock generator (Model H10-11R-TC-SF; Coulbourn Instruments). All chambers were illuminated under red light. Behavior was recorded by infrared digital cameras (Panasonic, model wvBP344, Osaka, Japan), mounted on the ceiling of each unit. An automated stimulus presentation was elicited using Freezeframe2 software (Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA, USA). Between each session, chambers were cleaned with Windex (SC Johnson, Racine, WI, USA).

Smith K.A., Raskin M.R., Donovan M.H., Raghunath V., Mansoorshahi S., Telch M.J., Shumake J., Noble-Haeusslein L.J, & Monfils M.H. (2023). Examining the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury on fear extinction in male rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 1206073.

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Operant Conditioning of Rats for Food Reward

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Sprague-Dawley rats were first food trained in a 20hr overnight session to lever press on a fixed ratio (FR) 1 for 45mg grain pellets (Bioserv) in operant conditioning chambers (Coulbourn Instruments). The chambers were placed in sound attenuating isolation cubicles (Coulbourn Instruments) and were equipped with two retractable levers and a food dispenser positioned between the levers. Pressing the lever positioned to the right of the dispenser (active lever) resulted in delivery of a food pellet, whereas pressing the left (inactive) lever had no programmed consequences. Surgery was performed 48hrs after reaching a criteria of 100 lever presses during a single food training session.

Blouin A.M., Pisupati S., Hoffer C.G., Hafenbreidel M., Jamieson S.E., Rumbaugh G, & Miller C.A. (2018). Social stress-potentiated methamphetamine seeking. Addiction biology, 24(5), 958-968.

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Autoshaping and Self-Administration in Rats

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Rats received seven autoshaping sessions in which were trained to self-administer food pellets under a FR-1 schedule 30 minutes sessions (4 before and 3 after catheter implantation (Fig 1). Food was not restricted during autoshaping sessions. At the age of 52 ± 1 days, the rats underwent 24 self-administration sessions (120 min, FR-1) in operant conditioning chambers (Coulbourn Instruments, Allentown, PA, USA) according to the scheme in Fig 1. Every three days the infusion pump parameters were adjusted to the weight of each animal (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA, USA) and an ad-hoc program (Med-PC software) was used to control the effects of two levers: active (infusion of the corresponding treatment) or inactive (no effect). A light was on above the active lever to indicate the availability of the reinforcement, staying off for 20 seconds (Time-off) after each valid response or permanently when the maximum number of 15 infusions had been reached.

Marcos A., Moreno M., Orihuel J., Ucha M., Mª de Paz A., Higuera-Matas A., Capellán R., Crego A.L., Martínez-Larrañaga M.R., Ambrosio E, & Anadón A. (2020). The effects of combined intravenous cocaine and ethanol self-administration on the behavioral and amino acid profile of young adult rats. PLoS ONE, 15(3), e0227044.

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Operant Conditioning Chamber Setup

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Each operant conditioning chamber (29 cm × 26 cm × 33 cm; Coulbourn Instruments, Allentown, PA) was made of aluminum and Plexiglas walls, an aluminum ceiling, and a stainless steel grid floor. Two response levers were located on the front wall 10 cm above the chamber floor on either side of an aperture for delivery of food pellets (not used in this study) located 2 cm above the floor. LED stimulus lights were located 2 cm above each response lever. Water was continuously available via a spout mounted on the back wall of the chamber. Each chamber was placed inside a sound-attenuating cubicle equipped with an exhaust fan that provided masking noise. Infusion pumps (Model RHSY, Fluid Metering, Syosset, NY) placed outside each cubicle delivered infusions through Tygon tubing connected to a fluid swivel mounted above the chamber, and from the swivel through a spring leash connected to a guide cannula mounted in a harness assembly on the back of the rat. MED-PC IV (Med Associates, St Albans, VT) software was used for operating the apparatus and recording data.

Grebenstein P.E., Burroughs D., Roiko S.A., Pentel P.R, & LeSage M.G. (2015). Predictors of the nicotine reinforcement threshold, compensation, and elasticity of demand in a rodent model of nicotine reduction policy. Drug and alcohol dependence, 151, 181-193.

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Contextual Fear Conditioning Protocol

Cited 1 time

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Eighteen days after surgery (8–10 days after exercise), hippocampal-dependent contextual fear conditioning was performed^{7 (link)}. Rats were placed into the operant conditioning chamber (Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA) for 370 seconds with a 2 second 1.5 mA shock administered at second 340. The following day, rats remained in the chamber for 480 seconds with no shock administered. Amount of time freezing was quantified (FreezeFrame, Coulbourn Instruments) prior to the shock on the first day (Baseline) and for the entire duration on the second day (Contextual). Animals that froze more than 50% on the first day were excluded from further analysis (n=1, global cerebral ischemia with moderate exercise).

Stradecki-Cohan H.M., Youbi M., Cohan C.H., Saul I., Garvin A.A., Perez E., Dave K.R., Wright C.B., Sacco R.L, & Perez-Pinzon M.A. (2017). Physical Exercise Improves Cognitive Outcomes in Two Models of Transient Cerebral Ischemia. Stroke, 48(8), 2306-2309.

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