The IntelliCage System: A Review of Its Utility as a Novel Behavioral Platform for a Rodent Model of Substance Use Disorder

The use of animal models for substance disorder (SUD) has made an important contribution in the investigation behavioral and molecular mechanisms underlying abuse addiction. Here, we review a novel comprehensive platform to characterize addiction-like traits rodents using fully automated learning system, IntelliCage. This system simultaneously captures basic navigation, reward preference, aversion, as well multi-dimensional complex behaviors cognitive functions group-housed rodents. It can reliably capture track locomotor pattern alterations associated with development Thus, IntelliCage offers potentially efficient, flexible, sensitive tool high-throughput screening rodent SUD model.