Using Light to Establish Habits in Laboratory Mice

Abstract

Background and aimsPerseverative behaviours are commonly assessed using operant paradigms in which rodents work for drugs or food under physiological deprivation, limiting translational relevance to some behavioural addictions. Here we validated an operant paradigm in which the acquired behaviour is driven neither by physiological needs nor hedonic responses. MethodsMice were trained to lever-press for green light. Exp.1 used a within-subjects design to examine lever discrimination and whether responding could be "satiated" by light preexposure. Exp.2 examined instrumental contingency using a between-subjects design, with light delivery equated between contingent and non-contingent groups. Exp.3 replaced green light with dim red light producing less retinal photoreceptor excitation but comparable heat to assess non-photic cues. Exp.4 examined whether green light could affect food seeking different motivational states. ResultsIn Exp.1, green light supported lever discrimination. Among high responders, the satiation effect was modest (<15% reduction) and did not deter lever pressing. In Exp.2, instrumental contingency promoted response acquisition whereas random light delivery did not. In Exp.3, dim red light failed to sustain behaviour, producing [~]50% response decrement. In Exp.4, light potentiated food seeking under ad libitum feeding. Discussion and conclusionsResponse-contingent light serves as a reward to establish operant responding, which cannot be explained by alerting effects or thermal cues. Our study bridges the gap between animal models and findings from humans that coloured light may exacerbate smartphone use and that light therapy may reshape reward circuits in individuals with Internet gaming disorder symptoms [Li et al. (2026) Advanced Science 13:e14044].