Virtual reality

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.

…behavioral machine learning, and virtual reality. The researcher will build closed-loop paradigms and brain-behavior maps to study collective behavior, social cognition, individuality, sex differences, and stress in Danionella fish.

Predicting neural activity in higher visual areas (HVAs) in mice during spatial navigation is challenging due to the complex interaction between spatial and temporal processing. One recent two-stream hypothesis for rodents proposed by Saleem (2020) suggests that form-based goals and detailed landmark signals are processed by cortical areas biased towards the central visual field, while self-motion signals are processed in the periphery. Inspired by this, we developed a deep learning model that splits visual input into two streams: a convolutional neural network (CNN) processed the central visu

Navigation is inherently dynamic. It involves learning the environment, as well as positions in and trajectories through it, and then executing a path to reach a target. Spatial navigation skills vary significantly among individuals. But what differentiates a good navigator from a bad one, or an easy-to-navigate path from a hard one? Studies have analysed exploration and navigation using static quantitative measures, e.g., location tallies or distance traveled. However, static metrics are inherently limited for characterisation of dynamic behaviours. To fill this gap, we introduce the Flow Tre

…two subtly different linear tracks in virtual reality. The results provide a de

…a new task for mice navigating in virtual reality (VR) to temporally disentangle different cognitive computations. Mice first accumulate evidence to determine the predominant color of a random

Hippocampus and primary visual cortex (V1) have been shown to represent self-location in a coordinated manner during navigation. Moreover, during rest, spatially-modulated cells in the hippocampus are known to replay past trajectories. These recapitulations of previous experiences are proposed to spread across cortical areas, constituting a hallmark of system-level consolidation theories and providing clear predictions about how hippocampus and cortex coordinate during sleep. We aimed to test these predictions by answering the following questions: 1) Can replay be detected in V1 during sleep?

…navigation, we developed a virtual reality olfactory set-up for Drosophila that allows precise closed-loop control over odor encounters. We found

The appearance of image-forming eyes enabled animals to use vision for advanced behavioural repertoires, as constantly redirecting their gaze away or towards relevant targets. To prevent image blurring, mechanisms to stabilize the world in the retina are required. The vestibulo-ocular and the optokinetic reflexes are the main contributors to gaze stabilization, by generating compensatory movements, while the optic tectum integrates multisensory information and generates orienting/evasive gaze movements in all vertebrates. We use the lamprey, oldest extant vertebrate that shows remarkable simil

In order to improve the immersive experience of Virtual Reality (VR), this research aims to elucidate how people perceive self-location and to develop a method to transfer “the sensation of me being here” to another location. In order to elucidate this perception for self-location, I focused on the out-of-body experience (OBE) in which one's consciousness is localised outside the body, and one perceives oneself as if one is looking at one's own body from this position. Conventional induction methods for pseudo-OBE involve projecting images of mannequins or virtual bodies in VR and applying tac

…neural activity with locations on a 1D Virtual Reality (VR) track, and then translates those locations into contextually appropriate actions (Fig

…visual stimuli, but the advance of virtual reality (VR) tools is promising for better elucidating the dynamics of this neuromodulator in visually guided behaviors. The present study aims to explore the spatiotemporal activation of cortical cholinergic fibers during the presentation of a VR dynamic environment compared to standard visual stimuli using mesoscopic ACh imaging in awake mice.Choliner

Sensorimotor circuits have traditionally been studied using defined stimuli that map onto reproducible behavioural responses. However, the many features of a complex natural environment would inevitably drive multiple dedicated circuits, eliciting a combination of competing motor commands. To cope, sensorimotor transformations should be selectively modulated depending on the animal's goals and internal state. Here, we have developed a novel behavioural paradigm to study how the fruit fly processes competing visual stimuli to generate coherent behaviour. We exploit the fruit fly's optomotor res

Virtual reality (VR) technologies allow to reproduce the working process. Forming the correct dynamics, personification of training and quality control can be solved using the haptic technology. We hypothesized that the use of haptic stimulation technology in combination with VR simulation of a working process will increase the efficiency of learning. Our aim was to investigate the effects of haptic electrical stimulation on motor learning and corresponding brain activity. The learning was carried out in a VR simulator with a full-body haptic suit (Teslasuit, https://teslasuit.io) to reinforce

Action Observation Treatment (AOT) and Virtual Reality (VR) are both effective interventions for upper limb rehabilitation in patients affected by stroke. The present study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of Action Observation (AO) combined with VR (AO+VR) in upper limb stroke rehabilitation, as compared to a control treatment based on VR alone (CO+VR). A multicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT) with blinded assessment and two investigative arms was conducted. Adult stroke survivors with hemiplegia (N=26) were randomized into AO+VR or CO+VR treatment groups. The treatment consisted

Both virtual reality (VR) goggles and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), as stand-alone tools, have proven to be valuable in neuroscience, medicine, and psychology. However, their combined use is rare due to limited data on technical compatibility and safety considerations. It is unclear whether all brain regions can be equally stimulated while in VR.To investigate the constraints of integrating VR goggles and TMS and to assess brain region accessibility, we explored 28 TMS coil positions over five 3D-printed heads outfitted with MetaQuest2 VR goggles and a TMS coil, using both MNI coord

…as a function of performance in a virtual reality location memory task that can be solved either with a cued-based strategy or exclusively by path integration. We take advantage of spontaneous variation within and between recording sessions, which gives a complementary

Vicarious fear learning is a highly effective means to learn of potential dangers, as well as a result of having both emotional empathy and associative learning. Studies in social neuroscience have found projections and cell types essential for vicarious fear learning. However, it is unknown what aspects of the cortical network dynamics are essential for and contribute to processing information during social learning, which can be conveniently studied with imaging and advanced electrophysiology setups requiring head fixation. In particular, this project aims to study how the medial associative

…to evaluate the efficiency of using virtual reality (VR) to treat postoperative cognitive decline and pain perception. The study was a prospective, monocentric, clinical study that included 51 patients who have undergone major abdominal surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: Control (n = 25) and VR (n = 26). The VR sessions consist

…Utilizing Unity3D and Oculus Rift S, a virtual reality setup displayed 3D words at peripersonal (60 cm) and extrapersonal (120 cm) space. Participant

The coordinated recruitment of neural ensembles is thought to underlie behaviourally relevant information processing in the brain. These ensembles are temporally dynamic with individual neurons flexibly recruited into functional groups. In premotor cortex, intermingled neurons are activated during movement planning and execution but also in response to contextual cues, and reward. However, probing the behavioural role of these ensembles and understanding the circuit mechanisms underlying dynamic ensemble formation has been challenging due to the difficulty of flexibly manipulating individual c

According to current theory, memories are initially encoded through hippocampal (HC) and neocortical (NC) interactions, and subsequently consolidated during slow-wave-sleep (SWS) into hippocampus-independent neocortical schemas. In this sleep phase, specific neural oscillations, Sharp-Wave-Ripples (SWR) and K-complexes (KC), dominate, respectively, HC and NC.Complementary Learning Systems Theory (CLST)1 proposes that new memories can gradually be integrated into the NC, without catastrophically interfering2 with existing knowledge. However, it assumes a massive replay of previous knowledge int

Integrating sensory information, such as visual inputs, is critical for many goal-directed behaviors, including motor learning. Motor adaptation, a specific type of adaptive learning where one needs to rapidly learn a new sensorimotor mapping has been an excellent way to behaviorally test how motor learning may be enacted. For example, in humans, perturbing visual feedback results in deviated trajectories that participants can restore to baseline performance over time. Yet, the neural circuits that underlie these visuomotor adaptations remain poorly understood. Here, we developed an implicit v

In all metazoans, neural circuit function is subject to regulation by state-specific neuromodulation. Here, we mapped the expression of neuromodulatory systems in the zebrafish telencephalon to ultimately understand their contributions to memory formation. We first generated a comprehensive single-cell RNA sequencing dataset of the telencephalon of adult zebrafish and mapped the diversity of neuronal cell types to anatomical brain areas. Gene expression data of G-protein coupled receptors were mined to embed individual cell types in neuromodulatory networks, allowing inference about which modu