Touchscreen training data for great-tailed grackles

Operant chambers are small enclosures used to test animal behavior and cognition. While traditionally reliant on simple technologies for presenting stimuli (e.g., lights and sounds) and recording responses made to basic manipulanda (e.g., levers and buttons), an increasing number of researchers are beginning to use Touchscreen-equipped Operant Chambers (TOCs). These TOCs have obvious advantages, namely by allowing researchers to present a near infinite number of stimuli as well as increased flexibility in the types of responses that can be made and recorded. Here, we trained wild-caught adult and juvenile great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) to complete experiments using a TOC. We have learned much from these efforts, and outline the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches. We report data from our training sessions and discuss important modifications we made to facilitate animal engagement and participation in various tasks. Finally, we provide a "training guide" for creating experiments using PsychoPy, a free and open-source software that we have found to be incredibly useful during these endeavors. This article, therefore, should serve as a useful resource to those interested in switching to or maintaining a TOC, or who similarly wish to use a TOC to test the cognitive abilities of non-model species or wild-caught individuals.

操作性条件反射箱（Operant chambers）是用于测试动物行为与认知的小型实验箱笼。传统上，这类装置依赖简单技术呈现刺激（如灯光与声音），并记录动物针对基础操作装置（如操纵杆与按键）作出的反应；如今，越来越多研究者开始采用配备触摸屏的操作性条件反射箱（Touchscreen-equipped Operant Chambers，TOCs）。此类TOCs具备显著优势：不仅可支持研究者呈现近乎无穷多种刺激，还能在可生成与记录的反应类型上提供更高灵活性。本研究团队训练了野外捕获的成年与幼年大尾拟八哥（Quiscalus mexicanus），使其使用TOCs完成相关实验。我们从该系列工作中积累了丰富经验，并梳理了这两类实验路径的优劣。文中我们将报告训练过程中的相关数据，并讨论为提升动物参与度与任务完成度所做的关键改进。最后，我们提供了一份基于PsychoPy的实验搭建训练指南——PsychoPy是一款免费开源软件，我们在本研究中证实其具备极高实用价值。因此，本文可为有意转向或沿用TOCs开展研究，或是希望使用TOCs测试非模式物种或野外捕获个体认知能力的科研人员提供实用参考。