Behavior Automation for rodent decision making
Official title: C3: Behavior Automation
Funded at Princeton University · NIH-11385519 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A national research grant funds a center that uses automated, standardized rodent behavioral training to study how working memory guides decisions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Princeton University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Princeton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 8, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $284,258 |
| NIH project number | 5U19NS132720-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11385519 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable to patients directly; however, the grant supports advancing neuroscience methods that may inform future human studies of memory and decision making.
✕Less likely to help
The project itself does not involve patient participants or direct clinical care at this stage.
What this research studies
This grant supports a shared, high-throughput behavioral facility where rodents perform cognitive tasks in virtual-reality and standard setups to reveal how memory and decision making work in the brain. The Core 3 team will automate training workflows, expand the number of rigs, and implement tools to keep animals healthy while improving data quality. Researchers from multiple projects will rely on these automated systems to produce consistent, scalable results. The initiative also plans to hire and train staff, manage animal care, and ensure regulatory compliance as demand grows.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could streamline animal research and improve our understanding of memory and decision processes, potentially informing human cognitive research.
How similar studies have gone: Previous cores have shown that automated, standardized behavioral training improves data reliability in cognitive neuroscience studies.
Where this research is happening
-
Princeton University
Princeton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Brody, Carlos D — Princeton University
- Study coordinator: Brody, Carlos D
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.