pyControl GridMaze Expander Board

Founding developer Thomas Akam

$119.00 USD

Founding developer Thomas Akam

Thomas Akam is a neuroscientist at the Oxford University Department of Experimental Psychology. He is the lead developer of the @pyControl and @pyPhotometry open source projects. His work links computational accounts of flexible behaviour with large-scale behavioural experiments and neural recording and manipulation approaches, including silicon-probe electrophysiology, fiber photometry, and optogenetics. In this context, pyControl is not merely an experiment-control package, but part of a broader effort to make complex behavioural neuroscience more scalable, transparent, and reproducible.

The pyControl GridMaze is an open and modular behavioral testing system designed for experiments with freely moving rodents. Built around the open-source pyControl framework, the system enables automated execution of behavioral tasks with precise control of stimuli, rewards, and event timing. The GridMaze is particularly suited for studies involving spatial navigation, decision-making, and learning experiments. It can also be combined with external recording systems such as cameras or imaging setups.

EXPERIMENTAL CAPABILITIES

The pyControl GridMaze Expander Board is an expansion board that connects to the Maze Hub Board and provides additional behaviour ports for connecting GridMaze tower modules.

The Expander Board enables the number of connected tower interaction points to be increased and is suitable for building, replacing, or expanding the electronic control setup.

KEY FEATURES

Expansion board for pyControl GridMaze electronics
Provides behavior ports for connecting GridMaze tower modules
Supports scalable GridMaze configurations when used with the Maze Hub Board
Suitable as a replacement, spare, or system expansion

Maze Expander PCB

PUBLICATION

Mohamady El-Gaby, Adam Loyd Harris, James C. R. Whittington, William Dorrell, Arya Bhomick, Mark E. Walton, Thomas Akam & Timothy E. J. Behrens (2024). A cellular basis for mapping behavioural structure. Nature.

Michael Pereira, Beatriz S. Godinho, Christian K. Machens, Rui M. Costa, Thomas Akam (2026). Flexible route planning and rapid structure learning by mice in complex environments. bioRxiv

Peter T. Doohan, Kristopher T. Jensen, Yaqing Chen, Beatriz S. Godinho, Charles D. G. Burns, Chongyu (Xiao) Qin, Josie L. Emery, Ryan J. Cini, Mark E. Walton, Timothy E. J. Behrens, Thomas E. Akam (2026). Structured and flexible representations in medial-frontal cortex support goal-directed navigation. bioRxiv

Thomas Akam, Andy Lustig, James M Rowland, Sampath KT Kapanaiah, Joan Esteve-Agraz, Mariangela Panniello, Cristina Márquez, Michael M Kohl, Dennis Kätzel, Rui M Costa, Mark E Walton (2022). pyControl: Open source, Python-based hardware and software for controlling behavioural neuroscience experiments. eLife.

Documentation Source Code