15.09.2026 – 3min Inside the Mind of Mice: Exclusive interview with Prof. Emeritus David Wolfer Join us for an exclusive interview with Prof. David Wolfer. He studied human medicine at the University of Zurich and completed his MD in 1988 at the Institute of Anatomy, later serving as associate professor of anatomy at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich until 2025. His research has focused on the biological basis of cognitive functions, and his group developed new approaches for automated, high-throughput behavioral analysis in the home cage. 1. Background: From Medicine to Mouse Behavior Could you please tell us a little about your field of research and the impact of your work? During my studies of medicine, I realized how limited the knowledge about the biological basis of cognitive function was. When I started as a researcher, molecular biologists had just begun to use genetically modified mice to investigate brain function and disease. How has your perception of behavioral phenotyping evolved over your career? Behavioral phenotyping has evolved in several ways. Conventional rodent behavioral tests were adapted from rats to the behavioral repertoire of mice, then new approaches were developed to better exploit the behavioral repertoire of mice and increase throughput through automation. Recent years saw increasing awareness about ethical and welfare issues in animal experimentation, and the introduction of artificial intelligence-based methods for the analysis of behavioral data. 2. Why IntelliCage Can you tell us about your experience using IntelliCage and what you found particularly valuable about the system? I used IntelliCage from the beginning on, because it was developed in the rodent behavioral facility that I ran together with Prof. Hans-Peter Lipp for many years. Unlike traditional behavioral tests, the IntelliCage allows long-term 24/7 observation of the behavior of mice in a social and familiar home cage environment with minimal handling by human experimenters. At the same time, it is flexible and programmable, which permits addressing multiple questions without transferring the mice to a new experimental setup. How important is reduced handling and stress for the validity of behavioral data? Reduced handling and stress for the animals, in particular the elimination of social isolation, are a key advantage of the IntelliCage system. The IntelliCage is particularly valuable for the analysis of mouse models that are oversensitive to environmental change and handling by humans. It has even proven useful for the analysis of wild-caught mice. IntelliCage – Smart by Design. Proven in Research. Open description 4 operant conditioning corners With dual liquid reward, sensors and actors, each corner has a built-in RFID antenna to identify animal presence. Each corner can accommodate one mouse at a time. Open description Special lid holder for easy cleaning during the long-term experiments Open modal Open description Air-puff valve Open description Presence detector Open description 3 multicolor – LEDs Open description Nose poke sensor (light barrier) Open description Tip of water cap (licking detection) Open description Closable door to water access Close modal Open description Central compartment Spacious central compartment with food grid and shelter, mice used to rest and sleep in red houses. Open description Each corner is equipped with two motorized doors to give and close access to the drinking bottle How has the system contributed to our understanding of learning, memory, or social behavior in mice? The learning corners of IntelliCage essentially are simplified operating chambers. This permits assessment not only of long- and short-term memory but also other aspects of cognition such as impulse control and decision-making. 3. Impact and Critique Which of your findings using the IntelliCage do you consider most impactful for neuroscience? Only time will tell which findings will have the largest and lasting impact. The system was particularly helpful in testing executive functions and decision-making, which are difficult and labor-intensive to analyze using conventional approaches such as operant chambers. More recently, we have developed learning tasks based on dual motivation by combined incentive and disincentive taste stimuli, offering richer insights into how animals value different options. How do you respond to critiques that automation may oversimplify complex behaviors? I think automation per se does not contribute to oversimplification of complex behaviors. It is an experimental tool permitting to test specific predictions about behavioral changes that may reflect functional consequences of experimental manipulations of brain systems and processes. 4. Looking Ahead What advice would you give to early-career researchers considering adopting IntelliCage? I would definitely encourage young scientists to adopt IntelliCage solutions and to combine them with equipment that allows video-based observation and analysis of behavior. Contacts for this purpose can be made on platforms like https://www.thebehaviourforum.org. What exciting future directions do you see for behavioral research? Exciting directions that have emerged in recent years are the combination of the observation of behavior with activity recording of large populations of identified neurons and the use of artificial intelligence-based tools for the analysis of neural activity and video-recorded behavior. It would be great to see some of these approaches combined with IntelliCage technology. Thank you for taking the time to share your work with us, Professor Emeritus Wolfer. We wish you all the best and are excited to follow your upcoming discoveries. Published: 15.09.2026 Key Takeaways: Minimal handling means more valid data.Reduced handling and stress, especially the elimination of social isolation, is a core advantage of IntelliCage, making behavioral data less sensitive to lab environment or experimenter effects. Why Scientist Switch to IntelliCage? Naturalistic social housing within a standardized home-cage environment Fully automated behavioral and cognitive assessment with individual identification Minimal human intervention, reducing stress and improving task validity High reproducibility and efficiency through continuous, unbiased data collection Improved animal welfare through reduced handling and low-stress procedures Extendable via programmable access control for complex studies IntelliCage in Numbers Used by over 173 scientists worldwide It has been published in over 500 peer-reviewed articles Study Natural Behavior in Social Groups up to 16 mice or 8 rats together and collect individual behavioral data without isolation Frequently Asked Questions 1. What types of behaviors and cognitive functions can be assessed? IntelliCage allows for the assessment of a broad range of spontaneous and learned behaviors, including: Spontaneous activity patterns and circadian rhythms Spatial learning, memory and reversal learning Operant and associative learning (e.g. Fixed ratio, DRL paradigms) Cognitive flexibility and aspects of executive function Motivation- and reward-related behaviors relevant to addiction research 2. In which research areas has IntelliCage been utilized? IntelliCage has been employed in various research fields, including: Neuroscience Psychiatry Pharmacology Genetics It has been used to study models of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, depression, autism, and addiction. 3. Can the IntelliCage system be used for addiction research? Yes, the IntelliCage has been effectively utilized to model various aspects of substance use disorders (SUDs) in rodents. Using programmable access to liquids and operant conditioning schedules, researchers can model aspects of substance use disorders such as voluntary consumption, seeking behavior, extinction, and reinstatement under controlled and automated conditions. 4. Can IntelliCage be used to assess emotional states like optimism or pessimism in mice? Yes, researchers have developed a cognitive bias paradigm within the IntelliCage system to measure emotional states in mice. This automated, home-cage-based test allows mice to participate voluntarily, reducing stress and providing insights into their expectations about future events, which can reflect optimism or pessimism. Development of an IntelliCage-based cognitive bias test for mice – PubMed 5. How can researchers track mouse movement across the entire cage floor? While IntelliCage primarily monitors activity at the corners, integrating RFID antennas beneath the cage floor or using video tracking systems can provide comprehensive data on overall locomotion and social interactions within the home cage. 6. How many animals can be tested simultaneously? A single Intellicage can accommodate up to 16 mice or 8 rats per cage, depending on strain, size and local animal welfare rules.For higher throughput, multiple cages can be operated in parallel, allowing for the testing of up to 64 mice or 32 rats across four cages. 7. What are the key components of the IntelliCage? Each IntelliCage is a fully automated home-cage system equipped with four operant conditioning corners, each equipped with: RFID antennas for individual animal identification Nose poke sensors Motorized doors controlling access to water bottles LED cues Air-puff valves for aversive conditioning Lick detectors 8. Can the IntelliCage be used for long-term studies? Yes. IntelliCage is specifically designed for continuous, 24/7 monitoring over extended periods ranging from days to several weeks or longer. Because animals remain group-housed in their home cage and experiments run fully automatically, the system is ideally suited for longitudinal studies with minimal experimenter intervention and high reproducibility. 9. Does IntelliCage require animal handling during experiments? No. Once animals are introduced and transponder-tagged, experiments run fully automatically without daily handling, significantly reducing stress and experimenter-induced variability. Center of Knowledge Webinars Tutorials Documents D. Wójcik (Nencki Institute): Basic kinematics of mice reinforcement learning in intelligent cages https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eJU4l51tUk From the laboratory to the field and back: the roots of automated home cage testing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IiERXzP4K8 Vootele Vöikar – IntelliCage my story https://youtu.be/vXnmJ3efW7I?si=UDDLEyzjTGc2xewc Cognitive & Behavioral Screening of Individual Mice Living in a Social Group – the IntelliCage https://youtu.be/5-VV4ISunIw?si=RSN5Wx5vCVVAT59K How to Investigate Behavior and Cognitive Abilities of Individual Rodents in a Social Group https://youtu.be/fz6_nCbIs6Q?si=UvM-FoCdvqg6mcfQ Motivating mice to learn difficult tasks in the IntelliCage without water restriction https://youtu.be/2_XgtLV0Spg?si=Q3It4wtENmPacBIa How to study neural circuits in the IntelliCages? https://youtu.be/Ql1R520Kg5o?si=Qva3DtOR-LOXYRcP Fixed Ratio Test Request Tutorial Place Learning Test Request tutorial Differential Reinforcement of Low Response Rate Request tutorial IntelliCage for Rats – publications FlowR software – flyer IntelliCage blog posts Why Alzheimer's Mouse Models Show Cognitive Rescue That Doesn't Translate Over 400 drugs have rescued cognition in Alzheimer’s mouse models. Fewer than 5 have shown efficacy in humans (Langness et al., 2025). That gap is… Learn more 8 Drug Classes Tested in IntelliCage: What Group-housed Cognitive Phenotyping Revealed that Standard Tests Missed IntelliCage is an automated home-cage behavioral testing system developed by TSE Systems. It enables continuous cognitive phenotyping of group-housed rodents using RFID individual identification and… Learn more How Handling Stress Contaminates Behavioral Data and What to do Instead There is a confounder in almost every behavioral neuroscience study that nobody mentioned in the methods section. Handling stress. The moment you pick up an… Learn more Maternal Immune Activation as a Neurodevelopmental Risk Factor: New Insights into ADHD-Like Endophenotypes in a Mouse Model Overview Epidemiological evidence consistently links maternal infection during pregnancy to elevated offspring risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder. 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