An Arduino Real-Time Jump Tagging System for Exploring Stereotyped Jumping Behavior in Mice

Abstract The jump is one of the common stereotyped behavior in rodents. It is the natural state in some types of mice and also can be found in certain types of disease models, such as addiction. It is straightforward and easy to identify by the human eye in offline analysis. However, jumping is a short-lived act that happens immediately. It is difficult to be tagged in real-time by manual operation, which limits the detailed exploration of its neural mechanisms with the new techniques, such as fiber photometry recording or optogenetics. Here we introduced an arduino real-time jump tagging system (Art-JT system) to record the jump based on online monitoring the pressure changes of the floor in which the mouse is free exploring. Meanwhile, the Art-JT system can send the digital signal of the jump timing to the external device for tagging the events in the fiber photometry system or triggering the optogenetics laser. We tested it with the mice induced by Naloxone precipitated withdrawal jumping. The results showed that it could accurately record the jump events and provide several detailed parameters of the jump. Furthermore, it was easy and fast to get the GCaMP6 signal correlated with the jump in the medial prefrontal cortex and primary motor cortex by combining the Art-JT system and multichannel fiber photometry system. Our results suggested that the Art-JT system may be a powerful tool for recording and analyzing jumping efficiently and helping us to understand stereotyped behavior.