Improvements on mice tactile virtual reality system for electrophysiological experiments

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying animal behavior is a fundamental goal in neuroscience research. Virtual reality systems integrated with in-vivo electrophysiological recording provide a unique opportunity to study behavior and its neural correlates in controlled experimental settings. This thesis presents the design and implementation of a virtual reality system that allows for in-vivo electrophysiological recording in animals with fixed heads. By immobilizing the animals' heads, stable and accurate neural recordings were obtained while preserving their ability to engage in behavior resembling their natural environment. The virtual reality system incorporated various behavioral tasks, including open space running, obstacle avoidance, and forced-turning paradigms, to investigate the neural mechanisms associated with cognition and motor control. Behavioral data obtained from these tasks demonstrated the animals' ability to perform the required behaviors within the virtual environment. The electrophysiological data were processed using a robust pipeline that involved spike sorting algorithms and manual curation to identify neuronal units and extract their spike timings. By correlating the electrophysiological data with the animals' behavior, distinct patterns of neural activity associated with decision-making, spatial navigation, and adaptive motor control were revealed. Customized data analysis tools allowed for visualization and analysis of the correlated data, providing insights into the spatial and temporal dynamics of neuronal activity. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the neural processes underlying behavior and highlight the potential of virtual reality systems combined with electrophysiological recording for investigating complex cognitive and motor functions. This research opens avenues for further exploration of the neural mechanisms associated with behavior and may have implications for the development of therapeutic interventions targeting neurological disorders.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Bioengineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Hu, Kun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Vlasov, Yurii

• Virtual Reality
• Cortical Processing

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Kun Hu

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121523

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121523