The use of robots in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience is emerging as a fundamental method in behavioral experiments using animal models. Utilizing robots in animal experiments provides a substantial advantage for delivering specific stimuli to animals in a selective manner, teaching them different and relatively difficult behaviors, and manipulating group activity. In addition to using individual robots and animals together in behavioral paradigms, biohybrid organisms are created by integrating certain robotic systems with animals. Enabling animals to be controlled by external inputs like robots and enabling robots to be controlled by animals lead to the development of new experimental methods in behavioral animal studies. In addition, artificial intelligence and robotic learning models utilize animal behavior and basic working principles of the nervous system, and the emerging technology can be used in behavioral testing. This review investigates the use of robots and animals in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience under three headings. Behavioral tasks that contain animal-robot interactions (1) are discussed, together with biohybrid organisms created by integrating robots into the animals (2) and biology-inspired robotic systems (3). The theoretical and technical contributions of this novel technology and the resulting applications are evaluated.

Keywords:
Experimental psychology, behavioral neuroscience, animal models, robotics