# Control the start of tracking

To modify the Start track condition

The default Start track condition is a condition based on the variable In zone. The condition becomes true when the subject is detected in the arena for one second.

1.Click the Settings button.

2.In the window that appears, specify in which zone the subject should be to start tracking. Click Settings and choose the zone. See details about the variable In zone

3.Specify the criterion (time, frequency in the zone etc.). From the Statistic list, choose one of the statistics. See the details below.

Statistics available

▪Current Duration or Cumulative Duration to start tracking when the animal has been detected for some time in the zone. Current Duration is an uninterrupted period of time (for instance, the animal must be detected for 1 s without interruption). Cumulative Duration sums up all periods when the animal is in the zone since the start of the trial.

▪Current to start tracking as soon as the animal is detected (one sample is sufficient). Note that this condition may become true also when noise is occasionally detected as subject for a very short time, before the animal is released in the arena. Make sure that this does not happen.

▪Frequency to start tracking when the animal has visited the zone a number of times.

▪Latency to First to start tracking when the latency to its first visit to the zone is less or greater than a specific time.

To use a different Start track condition

Click the Condition - In zone box and press Delete, then choose another condition (see the examples below).

example 1 Start tracking exactly 1 minute after clicking the Start Trial button.

1.Click the Condition - In zone box and press Delete.

2.Under Conditions, click the button next to the variable you want to use (Time in this example), and select the options you require.

3.Insert the new box in the sequence and re-connect the boxes. See Connect two boxes.

example 2 Start tracking at a time you are not in the lab, for example at 23:00 h.

1.In step 2 above, click the button next to Time, choose After clock time and enter 23:00:00.

2.Before leaving the lab, choose Acquisition > Open Acquisition and click the Start trial button. The program waits till 23:00 to start tracking.

See also Conditions .

Examples

example 1 Start tracking immediately when you start the trial

1.Click the condition box and press Delete.

2.Reconnect the first box with the second one. See Connect two boxes

example 2 Start tracking when both (all) subjects are in the arena

1.Here we assume that the experiment is set to multi-subject tracking.

2.Click the Settings button in the condition box.

3.In the window that appears, click the Actors tab and select the subjects that should be in the arena at the start of tracking.

4.Select All selected subjects.

See also

▪Details about the variable In zone

▪Control the end of tracking