FARESHARE

Fluid tracking in socially housed rats

Contents of Repository

• Build instructions
• 3D print files
• Arduino code
• PCB GERBER file

Description

Social factors have been shown to play a significant role in alcohol consumption. Studying the role of social context on alcohol drinking is important to understand the factors that contribute to initiation or maintenance of casual and problematic alcohol use. A large body of preclinical research has shown that social environment plays an important role in alcohol consumption and preference, though the extent of these effects have been obfuscated by methodological differences and technical challenges. Robust individual differences in alcohol intake in socially housed animals are difficult to track when animals share a common fluid source. Commercial solutions are prohibitively expensive and are limited by proprietary software and hardware. Here we describe an affordable, open-source solution for tracking fluid consumption in socially housed rats. The device uses RFID to identify rats, a lickometer to activate fluid delivery, a custom low-profile PCB that sits on top of an Arduino-based microcontroller, fluid delivery via custom peristaltic pump for accurate measurement of consumption volume, OLED display, and continuous data logging to an SD card. Having a robust, affordable method for measuring drinking in socially housed animals will be of considerable use in preclinical addiction research and a step toward more translationally relevant animal models of fluid consumption. The added dimension of time allows for the analysis of circadian-linked consumption and the discrimination of continuous or binge-like drinking behaviours. Additionally, being open-source enables researchers to customize the device for more advanced applications such as sending signals to additional peripherals (e.g., optogenetic stimulation) or software on drinking initiation for time-locked or closed-loop interventions, manipulations, and measurements.

Citing FARESHARE: A preprint introducing the software is available on bioXriv, which should be cited accordingly. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.06.561248v1.full