INTRODUCTION

Runs on Windows 2000 ® and Windows XP ®

Although the arena and other environment hardware features constitute a compelling reason to choose Tru Scan, the real power of the system resides in the software. Versatility and simplicity are the defining benefits of Tru Scan.

You simply point and click to generate experiment protocols.

Once generated, protocols are simply called up by number any time you want to run them in the future. All selected data will be gathered, analyzed and presented in the same way whenever the experiment protocol is run in the future without reselection.
Other software features include subject, operator, and protocol I.D.s, as well as automatic data storage and stimulus presentations, if desired. Fully automated data analysis is provided for each subject or across subjects with results presented in table or graph form.

These results are calculated for all of the measures you select from the "data analysis items" shown on the next page. You can even cut and paste any of the graphic data to your publication documents.

DATA

All data are stored as raw coordinate sets with real time date stamps for each of the (1 to 3) Sensor Rings used. This lets you do two very important things.
First, any experiment can be rerun (without animals) to re-analyze data, using more and shorter histogram bins or new data elements to find other behaviors or effects that were missed in the original analysis protocol. All you have to do is create another protocol and run the old data. You can also use the newly created protocol for future running of experiments with new subjects and even average the new data with rerun data.

This feature contributes to meeting requirements for running as few animals as possible and using extant data wherever possible. Second, the raw data may be easily exported using Tru Scan's automatic formatting for export to a spread sheet or to a server for archiving and special statistical analysis.

LOG-IN TO RUN A SESSION - In this window you enter your operator name and click on the "CHECK" button to activate and check the hardware. Then, if desired, you may click on the green box representing any checked and functioning station to turn it off for the session. You have an option to draw subjects from a list that was created earlier, or to manually enter the subject I.D. as you start a new experiment run in each station.

You then select the protocol(s) to run in one or more of the active stations. You may run the same or different protocols in the stations. If you select the "same" option, you may run them independently starting each as you enter the animal, or yoke them so that they all run in synchrony. If the protocol presents stimuli or pauses for making injections etc., they will all occur at the same time so that the other animals' behavior will not be affected.

NOSE - POKE TASK, USER-SPECIFICATION SCREEN - This task is the same as the 16-hole task except that the user defines fewer than 16 "correct" holes which will be baited when the protocol is run. This provides a learned spatial discrimination and memory component to the nose poke task. Just click on the holes in the graphic to define those to be baited for the task. Tru Scan v2.0 will analyze the data for TASK ENTRIES, TASK TOTAL TIME, TASK % REST TIME, TASK ENTRIES, TASK ERRORS, POST-TASK ENTRIES (post-task is after all of the baited holes are visited), TASK DISTANCE TRAVELED, TASK NOVEL IRT, N-P TASK REPEATS and WORKING MEMORY RATIO.

CUSTOM ZONE ANALYSIS SELECTION SCREEN - Here you may elect to configure any pattern of coordinate cells into a maximum of 16 different zone analysis elements. Each zone may be composed of groups of one or more 2X2 cells from the 8X8 array of 64 cells (the same set of cells in the preset 64-cell-array zone). To create the zones, select "User Custom Zone Time" from the Analysis Element list and just point and click on each cell that you want to become a member of each group. You may create up to 16 zones using all or only some of the cells. The same cells may be used in multiple zones. Specify any shape with any spatial arrangement as small as a 2X2 square, but remember that groups of cells within a defined zone need not be contiguous!

ARCHIVING, RETRIEVAL, REVIEW, ANALYSIS AND CROSS-SUBJECT ANALYSIS OF DATA - This is one of the most distinguishing capabilities of Tru Scan software. In the "Statistical Review and Analysis" window, you are given the seven options shown. Under each of these there are one or more other windows to guide you through a very robust list of calculations and presentation options for your data.In the screen shown, the second option was selected to produce the sort-and-filter screen where the user can specify session, protocol, station, run and subject identification attributes to "zero in" on the group of records they want to review, combine or on which to perform other operations. The selection boxes on the first window and the buttons shown on the bottom of the active window suggest the power at your fingertips when you use Tru Scan v2.0.

SUMMARY STATISTICS

Any or all of the statistics listed below may be selected by pointing and clicking for each experiment. Each may be selected to be presented as a session histogram (experiment data interval) or a post-stimulus histogram with any number of bins and bin widths (time) desired. Each may be viewed as a list at the end of the session and may be plotted and printed if desired. Selected experiment runs, sessions, protocols and projects may also be averaged, plotted and printed. Graphic data can be saved to graphic files so that you can cut and paste it to your publications.

Details of the hardware and software are fully discussed in the Tru Scan User's Guide, available online by selecting TSv2.0 Manual in the Site Navigation list on the left of this page.

The following is the current standard list of data
measurements available; we are working on others.
If you need to measure something else, we can do it for a nominal charge-inquire.

The data below cannot be meaningfully averaged. They may be plotted only from raw data at the end of the session or from "review".