All experiments will receive a unique ID that will be used in all documents for cross-reference. We also use a shorthand notation used together with the experiment ID in protocols and data files to describe the experimental procedure applied.

The ID consists of three numbers and follows the following format: YY.PPP.NN

1. YY: the year in which the experiment was conducted (or started in case it extends over many years) [2 digits]
2. PPP: the project number [3 digits]
3. NN: the experiment number within the project [2 digits]

The experiment id 22.005.75 refers to an experiment conducted/started in the year 2022, within project 005 (Interference project; see here for the list of projects), and it was the 75th experiment conducted in that project.

In order to make it easy to understand the general procedure of an experiment, we use a shorthand notation. Usually, this is part of file names related to an experiment, and also the main data folder containing these data files.

The steps of the experiment, i.e., the experimental phases, are listed in sequence in this notation. Here is an example for such a descriptor: S(5mX3d) R(24h) P(O). This refers to an object recognition experiment in which animals first participated in Sampling (S), where each Sampling trial took 5 min (5m), one trial per day for 3 days (3d). After the last day of Sampling, there was a memory retention interval (R) of 24 hours (24h), and then followed the Probe trial (P), in which we tested novel object recognition (O).