Welcome to The Training Village

Continuous testing of rodents in cognitive tasks

The Training Village is a system designed for the continuous, automated training of rodents in complex cognitive tasks. RFID-tagged animals live in groups and individually access an operant box to perform tasks at any time, 24/7.

Flexibility: Designed to integrate with your specific Python protocols and behavioral control system. It is fully compatible with Bpod (Sanworks) or Arduino as your primary task controllers. Productivity: A single setup supports 10–12 animals simultaneously, significantly reducing manual labor hours. Welfare: Enhances animal well-being by allowing animals to live in social groups and by eliminating human handling and transport, providing the stable and predictable conditions required for optimal cognitive testing. Real-Time Monitoring: Check animal status at any time via integrated cameras. Receive instant updates and alerts directly through Telegram. Open-Source: Fully open-source under GPL v.3 and OSHW v.1 licenses. Access the source code on GitHub and find detailed assembly plans in the Resources section.

Watch the System in Action

How Does It Work?

The system is managed by a Raspberry Pi, selected for its reliability, low power consumption, and efficiency. This core unit is equipped with a custom Plug-and-Play HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), which seamlessly connects all sensors and actuators within the corridor.

Social Living & Identification — Animals reside in social groups within one or more home cages. When an animal enters the access corridor, the setup utilizes RFID identification and a video camera to recognize the subject. A precision dual-door mechanism, orchestrated by the Raspberry Pi, ensures a controlled, single-animal entry into the Operant Box.

The Training Session — Once the animal is inside, the task logic and hardware—such as behavioral water ports—are typically managed by Bpod or Arduino. Simultaneously, the Raspberry Pi performs real-time camera-based tracking, allowing the animal's position to trigger specific experimental events. Additionally, it provides the high-level processing power required for peripherals like touchscreens or sound cards, ensuring stimulus presentation with negligible latency.

Return & Data Synchronization — After the session, the animal returns to its social group. All data is automatically synchronized to a server or external drive, and the training parameters for that specific subject are updated. This ensures the animal advances through its training protocols without any manual intervention.

Modular & Extensible — The platform is built to grow with your research:

• Social Behavior: Optional RFID sensors can be installed in the connecting tubes (Eco-HAB) to track movement and facilitate deep social behavior analysis.
• Wireless Optogenetics: The setup supports seamless integration with wireless optogenetic implants (NEUROLUX).

System Usage

The Training Village has been rigorously tested in the Brain Circuits and Behavior Lab across multiple cohorts of mice and three distinct behavioral paradigms: a three-choice visuospatial delayed response task, a two-choice visual or auditory perceptual discrimination task, and a two-armed bandit task. The system has been successfully adapted to rats in the Animal Minds Lab.

Citing Training Village

If you use Training Village, please cite:

Serrano-Porcar, B., Marin, R., Rodríguez, J., Barezzi, C., Vasoya, H., Kean, D., Pottinger, D., Taylor, A., Martínez Vergara, H., & de la Rocha, J. (2026).
The Training Village: an open platform for continuous testing of rodents in cognitive tasks.
bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.12.698970

Developed by:

BRAIN CIRCUITS AND BEHAVIOR LAB

Funding was provided by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), the European Research Council (ERC), and the Cellex Foundation.