pyControl GridMaze Tower Assembly

Founding developer Thomas Akam

$395.00 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 Tower Assembly is an assembled tower package for building, replacing, maintaining, or expanding active tower positions within a GridMaze setup.

Each assembly provides the mechanical tower, walkway components, interaction electronics, reward-delivery hardware, and mounting parts required for one tower-based interaction point.

KEY FEATURES

Modular tower assembly for pyControl GridMaze setups
Provides one active interaction point within the maze structure
Supports nose-poke based behavioral interaction
Enables location-specific cue and reward delivery
Suitable for replacement, maintenance, or expansion of GridMaze configurations

Maze-poke PCB / tower interaction electronics
Tower mechanical parts, including acrylic, HIPS, and PETG components
Walkway mechanical parts, including base and side panels
Frosted acrylic diffuser rod
Reward-delivery components, including solenoid, reward tube, PVC tubing, and tubing adaptor
Required mounting hardware, including screws, nuts, and spacers

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