An automated food delivery system for behavioral and neurophysiological studies of learning and memory in freely moving monkeys

• Published in: Behavior research methods Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 368 - 372
• Main Authors: WILSON, Fraser A. W, KIM, Byoung-Hoon, RYOU, Jae-Wook, MA, Yuan-Ye
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Austin, TX Psychonomic Society 01.05.2005; Psychonomic Society, Inc
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal memory; Animals; Automation; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Food; Food Dispensers, Automatic - instrumentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Learning; Macaca mulatta; Memory; Methodology. Experimentation; Monkeys & apes; Movement; Neurophysiology - instrumentation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychometrics. Statistics. Methodology; Learning; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Acquisition process; Methodology; Animal; Memory; Monkey; Primates; Feeding
• ISSN: 1554-351X; 1554-3528
• DOI: 10.3758/BF03192705

We describe a custom-built feeder based on stepping motor technology controlled by a laboratory computer. The feeder dispenses a wide range of foods: any fruit, vegetable, or nut. The feeder allows the investigator to reward monkeys with different foods within a single experimental day. The monkey's motivation to perform tasks is high and does not rely upon food regulation. The avoidance of regulation, as well as the palatability and variety of the rewards dispensed by our device, distinguishes it from commercially available products. We also describe the use of the feeder in the context of novel behavioral and neurophysiological studies in freely moving monkeys.