PiVR: An affordable and versatile closed-loop platform to study unrestrained sensorimotor behavior.

Area of Science:

• Systems Neuroscience
• Neuroethology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Closed-loop experiments are essential for understanding the causal links between neural activity and behavior.
• Existing tools for such experiments can be expensive and complex, limiting accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accessible, affordable, and high-performance system for closed-loop optogenetic experiments in unrestrained animals.
• To demonstrate the system's utility in studying sensory navigation behaviors like chemotaxis and phototaxis.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Raspberry Pi Virtual Reality (PiVR) system, a low-cost (<$500), easy-to-build (<6 hours) platform.
• High temporal resolution (70 Hz) and low latency (<30 ms) for real-time neural stimulation and behavioral tracking.
• Application of PiVR to study chemotaxis in Drosophila (flies) and phototaxis in zebrafish larvae.

Main Results:

• PiVR successfully enabled closed-loop optogenetic control of neural activity to influence behavior.
• Demonstrated Drosophila's negative chemotaxis avoidance of optogenetically induced bitter taste.
• Showcased real- and virtual-odor gradient comparisons in Drosophila larvae and virtual light gradient orientation in zebrafish larvae.

Conclusions:

• The PiVR system provides a versatile and accessible tool for systems neuroscience research.
• Facilitates the study of neural circuit function and its relation to complex behaviors.
• Lowers the barrier to entry for advanced neuroscientific experimentation.