TriKinetics systems use infrared beams to detect and quantify animal movement over time. In a typical experiment, individuals are placed into transparent tubes with a supply of food, and as they move back and forth, their locomotor activity is recorded. Such daily activity records were first used to characterize the circadian rhythm of drosophila, and since then have been used to measure sleep, longevity, social interaction, geotaxis, phototaxis, learning, and drug response in various species of flies, mosquitoes, bees, spiders, ants, moths, cockroaches, wasps, beetles, zooplankton, and fish. The system consists of a host Macintosh or Windows PC for data collection, a central power supply unit, and one or more activity monitors, all of which operate continuously over a period of days or weeks to capture the locomotor behavior of each individual. With 32 tubes per monitor, and up to 120 monitors per system, over 3000 activity records may be generated concurrently. In addition to individual monitoring, units are available to monitor groups or populations in larger tubes, and these can also be used for larger animals. Tube diameters from 2mm to 150mm have been used, with 5mm the long-established standard for individual drosophila. In all cases, the infrared beams allow unit operation in daylight or darkness, at any orientation and temperature, and are compatible with large-scale experiments across many individuals in multiple incubators and conditions. The units are easy to use, repeatable, robust, and time- tested. TRIKINETICS
DAM5H Drosophila Activity Monitor •  5 mm tube • 32 tubes •  15 beams per tube DAM2 Drosophila Activity Monitor •  5 mm tube • 32 tubes •  1 beam per tube LAM7 Locomotor Activity Monitor •  7 mm tube • 32 tubes •  1 beam per tube DEnM Drosophila Environment Monitor • Temperature • Humidity •  Ambient light LAM25 Locomotor Activity Monitor •  10, 16, 25 mm tube • 32 tubes •  1 beam array per tube ・ 3 or 9 beams per array LAM25H-3 Locomotor Activity Monitor •  25 mm tube • 32 tubes •  3 beam arrays per tube •  3 or 9 beams per array
Monitor Selection
Tube diameter is the most important selection criteria, and is based on the size of the animal to be studied. The goal is to use the smallest tube which still allows the animal to move freely, and generally this is about twice the standing height. We recommend observing candidate animals in tubes of different sizes and selecting the smallest one which allows repeated movement from end to end. All monitors may be operated with horizontal or vertical tubes.
Monitors for Drosophila Melanogaster
Individual flies
The 5mm tube diameter is the standard size for measuring the activity of individual flies. DAM2 uses a single beam at the tube midpoint, and counts any motion which breaks the beam. DAM5H uses 15 beams spaced at 3mm to record not only total counts, but also the position of each count and the fraction of time in each beam over an active monitoring length of 45mm. If the objective is to record total activity over time, including circadian rhythm, and the flies are similar in behavior to wild-type, the DAM2 will suffice in most applications. The DAM5H will be better at characterizing sleep in slowly-moving flies, and can also report the location of their activity for preference assays.
Groups of flies
The LAM25H is effective at measuring the consolidated activity of a group of flies (up to 25 individuals or so.) The 25mm tube diameter allows the flies to move freely and share social behavior. An enhanced version of the LAM25H, the LAM25H-3, provides even greater data fidelity in this application by measuring activity at 3 spaced points along the tube length.
Sleep Deprivation
The DAM2 and DAM5H may be mounted to a shaking platform for mechanical sleep deprivation. Short, repetitive vibration pulses are typically applied by the LC4 Light Controller at various times of the day under the direction of the DAMSystem3 software.
Gas Delivery
The MAN2 Gas Distribution Manifold allows controlled gas flow through the 5mm tubes of the DAM2, and has been used for studies of hypoxia and drug/alcohol effect.
Monitors for Larger Species
Tube sizes of 7, 10, 16, and 25mm are available for studies of larger species. LAM10 has been effective for some zooplankton, LAM16 for bees, LAM25 for spiders, and LAM25H for mosquitoes. If the animal stands to 1/2 of the inside tube height, the 3-beam version of LAM10/16/25 will provide reliable detection; otherwise the 9-beam -H version should be used.
Incubators External Device On/Off (4) • Incubator lights • Vortexers •  120 monitors per PSIU9 •  1 LC4 per PSIU9 •  1 DAMSystem3 software per PSIU9 •  Multiple PSIU9s per computer •  Each unit is assigned a red monitor number (1-120) which identifies it to the collection software. A PSIU9 can support only 1 of each number. DEnM Drosophila Environment Monitor
A Basic System
A basic system will include the following components, and may be expanded at any time with additional monitors: • Data Collection Computer (Macintosh or Windows PC) ・PSIU9 Power Supply Interface Unit • Activity Monitors (1 or more of DAM2 / DAM5H / LAM25, etc) • Tubes and caps (5mm, 7mm, 10mm, 16mm, 25mm, etc) • Enclosure to provide temperature/light stability (incubator or insulated box) All necessary cables are included.
Data Collection Computer
Any desktop or laptop Macintosh or Windows PC with an available USB port will suffice for data collection as long as the software meets the following minimum requirements: Windows 7,8,10 (32 or 64 bit) updated to the latest Microsoft release MacOS Lion 10.7 or later, updated to the latest Apple release A high-performance computer is not required for data collection, so an older machine or an entry-level new machine will normally serve. A UPS backup power system is recommended to prevent data loss in the event of a power outage.
Experimental Chamber
Measurements of circadian rhythm, sleep, and overall activity generally require stable temperature and light conditions. Temperature-controlled incubators are often used for this purpose, but sometimes a simple insulated box will suffice. The following setup can be built with components from any Walmart or hardware store for less than $50., and is a good way to get started on a limited budget. Drill a hole in the top of an insulated picnic cooler and mount an LED night light (0.5 watt max.) Connect the lamp to a 24-hour security timer with an extension cord. (Use UL-approved components only.) Drill another hole for a monitor cable, and pass the cable through. Use putty or RTV to seal both holes. Locate the cooler in a room with stable temperature, and place a small dish of water in the chamber to humidify the air. Plug the timer into a wall outlet and set the on/off schedule to 12 hours on and 12 hours off (or otherwise as desired.) Place the activity monitor(s) on a block above the chamber floor, and connect them to the PSIU9 network. Use a splitter inside the chamber if more than one monitor is used. Finally, use duct tape to insure a light-tight seal between the top and sides of the chamber. Be aware that the LED lamp must be of very low power to prevent warmup of the chamber interior.
Software
The DAMSystem3 data collection program uploads periodically from each activity monitor and saves its data in the respective raw monitor file on the hard drive. These simple files will each contain all of the raw experiment data for a single monitor, and may include multiple data types, errors, collection gaps, etc. The FileScan program can then scan and correct errors, and select particular data types and date/time ranges to produce processed or ‘good’ data files. Both raw and good files are 42-column tab-delimited text files. These files are then ready for input into a text editor, spreadsheet, or any number of available analysis programs (FaasX, et al.) Note that once collected, the raw monitor files may be moved to another computer for storage, processing, and analysis.
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External Device Control
The LC4 Light Controller allows the DAMSystem3 data collection program to turn on/off up to 4 external devices on a programmed schedule. These may be incubator lights on a 12/12 on/off cycle each day for circadian rhythm entrainment, heaters on a short pulse cycle to test arousal thresholds, or shaker platforms for sleep deprivation. Pulses may range from 0.1 seconds to 99 hours in length, and may be repeated in complex and random patterns if necessary, all synchronized to the monitor data collection cycle. LC4 Light Controller All monitors connect to the PSIU9 with 4-wire telephone cables, couplers, and splitters as shown. Each monitor is supplied with a CAB2 cable (60cm) which connects it to an SPLT5 5-way splitter. The splitters connect to each other in series, and finally through a CPLR coupler and CAB10 cable (305 cm) to the PSIU9. Each incubator should be connected to the PSIU9 with a separate CAB10 cable so that the total distance from the PSIU9 to each monitor is minimized. This separation also helps with troubleshooting in the event of cable faults.
Product Pricing and Orders
Current prices for all products, along with notes and procedures for order placement, are listed on the Product Price List. Additional information is available from: TriKinetics Inc USA www.trikinetics.com sales@trikinetics.com