Moculus: an immersive virtual reality system for mice incorporating stereo vision

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• Understanding how visual circuits process complex information and select relevant cues for memory remains a challenge.
• Technical limitations have hindered the study of visual representation and memory selection mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel platform for studying visual processing and memory formation in mice.
• To investigate the neural circuit mechanisms underlying visual learning and memory selection.

Main Methods:

• Development of Moculus, a head-mounted virtual reality platform for mice with full visual field coverage and binocular depth perception.
• Utilizing a controllable 3D environment with 3D corridors and objects.
• Employing 3D acousto-optical imaging for simultaneous neural recording and behavioral control.
• Investigating neuronal assembly dynamics during rapid visual learning and reinforcement.

Main Results:

• Reinforcement feedback transiently expands visual cue coding neuronal assemblies to near-saturation levels.
• This expansion enhances computational capacity, facilitating competition among assemblies encoding behaviorally relevant information.
• Coding assemblies form partially orthogonal and overlapping clusters around hub cells with specific response properties and increased local functional connectivity.

Conclusions:

• Moculus platform enables rapid visual learning and uncovering of circuit substrates in a single session.
• Reinforcement-driven expansion of neuronal assemblies is a key mechanism for selecting behaviorally relevant information for memory.
• Hub cells and altered functional connectivity within assemblies play a crucial role in information processing and memory formation.