Nencki Open Lab

Rainer Friedrich presents closed-loop, high-resolution virtual reality for head-fixed adult zebrafish, linking spatial cognition to telencephalic circuits. Behavioural training, two-photon imaging and circuit-level methods reveal how functional neuron types represent virtual environments and how experience refines those representations. Virtual-environment manipulations test cognitive inference and prediction, connecting internal models used in navigation and planning to neural organisation.

Touchscreens can support animal research, enrichment and communication across species. Jennifer Taylor-O’Connor explains practical training protocols and how interfaces must accommodate species-specific perception and behaviour. The seminar considers experimental and enrichment uses alongside ethical design: how appropriate interfaces and training can enable meaningful animal participation.