Topic: dark-flash visual stimuli

Sensory computations evolve as a function of internal state: are we hungry or satiated, sleepy or alert? To investigate how the brain implements this flexible processing of sensory information, we chose to study the larval zebrafish because of its well-defined behavioral repertoire and its optical accessibility for brain imaging. We recorded whole-brain activity at single cell resolution in freely moving fish while simultaneously presenting whole-field, dark-flash visual stimuli. Behaviorally, dark flashes reliably elicited high amplitude turn responses in awake and alert fish. Neurally, they