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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Behavioral Training Procedures for Head-fixed Virtual Reality in Mice

Behavioral Training Procedures for Head-fixed Virtual Reality in Mice

Published on: September 6, 2024

Visually Guided Behavior and Optogenetically Induced Learning in Head-Fixed Flies Exploring a Virtual Landscape.

Hannah Haberkern¹, Melanie A Basnak², Biafra Ahanonu³

¹Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA; Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Downing St., CB2 3EJ Cambridge, UK.

Current Biology : CB

|May 7, 2019

Summary

Head-fixed flies in a 2D virtual reality (VR) environment exhibit adaptive navigation. Their use of visual landmarks for navigation depends on whether stimuli are rewarding or aversive.

Keywords:

Drosophila melanogaster navigation operant learning optogenetics search virtual reality visual conditioning

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Animal Behavior
Virtual Reality

Background:

Virtual reality (VR) enables controlled behavioral studies in head-fixed animals.
Previous VR studies with Drosophila melanogaster primarily focused on 1D heading changes, not 2D movement.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate 2D navigation in head-fixed flies using an advanced VR environment.
To determine how flies adapt their behavior to sensory stimuli in VR.
To explore the role of visual landmarks in 2D navigation under different motivational states.

Main Methods:

Developed a 2D visual VR environment for head-fixed Drosophila melanogaster.
Utilized optogenetics to deliver appetitive (sugar-sensing neuron activation) and aversive (virtual heat) stimuli.
Investigated fly responses to stimuli and visual landmarks in the VR setting.

Main Results:

Flies' 2D landmark interactions differ from their 1D orienting behaviors.
Optogenetic activation of sugar-sensing neurons induced local search behavior, independent of visual landmarks.
Flies learned to avoid VR areas associated with aversive heat stimuli, using visual landmarks for avoidance when paired with negative reinforcement.

Conclusions:

Head-fixed flies demonstrate adaptive 2D navigation in VR.
The reliance on visual landmarks for navigation is context-dependent, influenced by appetitive versus aversive stimuli.
This study provides a platform for studying the neural basis of flexible navigation in complex sensory environments.