Feeding Experimentation Device (FED): A flexible open-source device for measuring feeding behavior.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Measuring food intake in rodents is a conceptually simple yet labor-intensive and temporally-imprecise task. Most commonly, food is weighed manually, with an interval of hours or days between measurements. Commercial feeding monitors are excellent, but are costly and require specialized caging and equipment.

New method

We have developed the Feeding Experimentation Device (FED): a low-cost, open-source, home cage-compatible feeding system. FED utilizes an Arduino microcontroller and open-source software and hardware. FED dispenses a single food pellet into a food well where it is monitored by an infrared beam. When the mouse removes the pellet, FED logs the timestamp to a secure digital (SD) card and dispenses a new pellet into the well. Post-hoc analyses of pellet

SUBMITTER: Nguyen KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4884551 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature