Operant chambers are small enclosures used to test animal behavior and cognition. While traditionally reliant on simple technologies for presenting stimuli (e.g., lights and sounds) and recording responses made to basic manipulanda (e.g., levers and buttons), an increasing number of researchers are beginning to use Touchscreen-equipped Operant Chambers (TOCs). These TOCs have obvious advantages, namely by allowing researchers to present a near infinite number of stimuli as well as increased flexibility in the types of responses that can be made and recorded. Here, we trained wild-caught adult and juvenile great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) to complete experiments using a TOC. We have learned much from these efforts, and outline the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches. We report data from our training sessions and discuss important modifications we made to facilitate animal engagement and participation in various tasks. Finally, we provide a "training guide" for creating experiments using PsychoPy, a free and open-source software that we have found to be incredibly useful during these endeavors. This article, therefore, should serve as a useful resource to those interested in switching to or maintaining a TOC, or who similarly wish to use a TOC to test the cognitive abilities of non-model species or wild-caught individuals.

中文翻译：

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使用配备触摸屏的手术室研究比较认知。好处，局限和建议。

操作室是用于测试动物行为和认知的小型外壳。传统上依靠简单的技术来呈现刺激（例如灯光和声音）并记录对基本操作的响应（例如操纵杆和按钮），但越来越多的研究人员开始使用配备触摸屏的操作室（TOC）。这些TOC具有明显的优势，即允许研究人员呈现几乎无限数量的刺激，并且在可以做出和记录的响应类型上具有更大的灵活性。在这里，我们训练了野外捕获的成年和少年大尾Qu（Quiscalus mexicanus），以使用TOC完成实验。我们从这些努力中学到了很多，并概述了这两种方法的优缺点。我们报告训练课程中的数据，并讨论我们为促进动物参与和参与各种任务而进行的重要修改。最后，我们提供了使用PsychoPy创建实验的“培训指南”，PsychoPy是一种免费的开源软件，在这些工作中我们发现它们非常有用。因此，对于那些有兴趣转向或维护TOC的人，或者类似地希望使用TOC来测试非模型物种或野生动物的认知能力的人，本文应该作为有用的资源。一个免费的开源软件，我们发现这些软件在这些工作中非常有用。因此，对于有兴趣转换或维护TOC的人，或者类似地希望使用TOC来测试非模型物种或野生动物的认知能力的人员，本文应该作为有用的资源。一个免费的开源软件，我们发现这些软件在这些工作中非常有用。因此，对于那些有兴趣转向或维护TOC的人，或者类似地希望使用TOC来测试非模型物种或野生动物的认知能力的人，本文应该作为有用的资源。