MARGO

MARGO performs real-time tracking and analysis of animal behavior in MATLAB to enable high-throughput, closed-loop behavioral experiments with spatially separated subjects such as those in multiwell plates.

Key Features:

• Real-time Tracking: Provides fast, high-accuracy simultaneous tracking of numerous animals in real time for extended recordings.
• Closed-loop Experimentation: Integrates control of peripheral hardware to deliver stimuli to multiple subjects in real time for closed-loop experiments.
• Customizable Software Architecture: MATLAB-based architecture allows users to define and implement new experimental routines and custom analyses.
• High Throughput: Optimized for high-throughput experiments enabling rapid data acquisition and processing across many arenas or multiwell plates.

Scientific Applications:

• Phototaxis assays: Coordinates tracking and hardware control to measure movement toward or away from light (phototaxis).
• Optomotor response assays: Measures movement induced by visual stimuli (optomotor response) with synchronized stimulus delivery.
• Optogenetic operant conditioning: Controls sensory and optogenetic stimuli in real time for operant conditioning experiments.
• Large-scale behavioral experiments: Enables large-scale behavioral studies relevant to neuroscience and genetics using spatially separated subjects.

Methodology:

MATLAB implementation integrates tracking algorithms with hardware control systems to enable real-time, closed-loop stimulus delivery and monitoring.