Voletron (RFID arena group composition tracking)

Voletron is our automated position tracking software that works in multichambered RFID-enabled areanas. The current version on Github (1.0) is in use for projects in the lab. The main purpose of the software is to take a raw data file of RFID antenna reads and a map of their locations and infer movement and cohabitation intervals. Whereas the standard software that ships with our RFID apparatus outputs a pairwise matrix of associations, Voletron builds up a model of each chamber's occupancy over time, allowing us to better describe grouping behavior. 

InterVole Timer (Behavioral scoring code for partner preference tests, and more)

Below are some of the behavioral scoring scripts we developed and use.  They are tools for human observer scoring (more powerful than a stopwatch, but someone still has to watch the sped-up video).  They are perl scripts I wrote ages ago and keep modifying. They are easy to run in unix (in Terminal on a Mac), and they are customized for what we need them to do.  All scoring code depicts a rodent on-screen.  The user moves this icon to match the behavior observed in the video and the code keeps track of the timing and associated information.  Videos may be played-back at actual speed, faster, or slower, as the scoring code will scale the test to the appropriate duration. Detailed instructions on how to run the scripts (and how to score partner preference tests) are available in the GitHub repository. 

We have versions of these scripts for just about every behavioral task we've used (partner preference tests, elevated plus maze, light/dark box, open field, two-chamber social choice, operant setups, etc.), so if it's not on GitHub and you want it, shoot me an email. 

This code is offered with the Creative Commons Attribution-nonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license. You can download, use, share, and edit this code but may not sell it (or derivative code).  If you use it in your research, please credit it. 

Partner Preference Test Scoring Code: IntervoleTimer

IntervoleTimer [latest version 1.6]

IntervoleTimer tracks a 180 minute partner preference test and records potential variables of interest including huddling time (with each target vole or other rodent), time spent in the same chamber as each target individual, bouts of huddling, time in the solo chamber, and number of transitions between chambers.  Source video can be continuous OR time-lapse; continuous video can be watched at high speed and the total time scored will be scaled to 180 minutes.  Thus the original test must be 180 minutes to use the scaled scored totals at the end.  A partner preference test of different duration could still be scored using this code, but the user must then read the unscaled totals from the data file.  One text data file (named with the Test ID) is generated for each test.  Timestamps and identifiers of all user actions are listed at the top of the file, summary data is listed at the bottom.