Behaviors

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Behaviors

A behavior is a module within a session that records which behavioral assay was performed, on which subjects, and using which setup. It ties together the standardized task description (via the assay) with the physical apparatus (via the setup) for a specific experimental session.

How It Fits Together

A behavior record is the junction point of two independent hierarchies — both must be defined before you can record a behavior:

Behavioral track Setup track
Shared taxonomy — available to all users
Behavioral Category
The broad cognitive domain (e.g., "Anxiety")
Preparation condition
The subject's physiological state (e.g., "Freely Moving Awake")
Behavioral Paradigm
Standardized task across the field (e.g., "Elevated Plus Exploration")
Setup Type
Class of apparatus for that preparation (e.g., "Elevated plus maze")
Lab-specific — private attribute belonging to your groups
Behavioral Assay
Your protocol for the paradigm under that preparation (e.g., "EPM 5-min test")
Setup
Your physical rig of that type (e.g., "EPM rig B, Room 108")

A Behavior record (this page) combines a behavioral assay with a specific physical setup and the subjects involved, within a session. The assay already encodes the preparation condition via its setup type — selecting a matching physical setup completes the record.

Both the setup and the behavioral assay are private attributes and must be defined separately before filling in the behavior form. They belong to group(s) that must be shared with one of the session's associated projects.

Example

Level Example
Behavioral Assay EPM 5-min test
Setup EPM rig B, Room 108
Subjects Mouse 01, Mouse 02
Behavior Session 2026-06-01 — Elevated Plus Exploration, trial 1

Fields

  • Session: The session this behavior belongs to (required).
  • Subjects: List of subjects involved in the behavior (required).
  • Setup: The physical setup used (required).
  • Behavioral assay: The behavioral assay performed (required).
  • Notes: Notes about the behavior.

Permissions

A behavior inherits permissions from the session associated with it. For more information on permissions, please see the documentation.

API Access

The API allows for programmable access to behaviors, enabling you to read, edit, and delete behaviors through the API. For details about the behavior's fields and data structure, refer to the documentation.