A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications

Abstract

Visual stimulation of animals in the laboratory is a powerful technique for studying sensory control of complex behaviors. Since commercial displays are optimized for human vision, we established a novel display system based on custom-built modular LED panels that provides millisecond refresh, precise synchronization, customizable color combinations, and varied display configurations. This system simplifies challenging experiments. With variants of this display, we probed the speed limits of motion vision and examined the role of color vision in behavioral experiments with tethered flying Drosophila. Using 2-photon calcium imaging, we comprehensively mapped the tuning of visual projection neurons across the fly's field of view. Finally, using real-time behavior analysis, we developed low-latency interactive virtual environments and found that flying flies can independently control their navigation along two dimensions. This display system uniquely addresses most technical challenges of small animal vision experiments and is thoroughly documented for replicability.

Super Bowl, an open platform for visual stimulation of insects

“…In contrast to other devices for visual stimulation under the microscope [1,3,7], Super Bowl provides a larger field of view with a homogenous brightness distribution (Figs 2, 6C and 6D). To demonstrate the advantages of the new system, we designed two experiments that would otherwise not have been feasible.…”

“…In contrast to other devices for visual stimulation under the microscope [1,3,7], Super Bowl provides a larger field of view with a homogenous brightness distribution (Figs 2, 6C and 6D).…”

“…In recent years, research on the visual system of insects, in particular that of Drosophila melanogaster, has produced a rich collection of stimulation devices that take many shapes and forms. Fueled by technological advances, most of them either repurpose devices originally designed for the human visual system [1][2][3][4][5][6], or are custom-made from highly specialized components [7][8][9][10][11] rendering their implementation almost prohibitively expensive. To tailor a stimulation device to the demands of an insect's visual system, while keeping it versatile, compact and affordable, poses a formidable technical challenge.…”

Eye structure shapes neuron function inDrosophilamotion vision

“…The display was a G4 LED arena 64 with a manual instead of a motorized rotation axis. The arena covered slightly more than one half of a cylinder (216° in azimuth and ∼72° in elevation) of the fly’s visual field, with the diameter of each pixel subtending at most 2.25° on the fly eye.…”

“…Current clamp recordings were sampled at 20KHz and lowpass filtered at 10KHz using Axon multiClamp 700B amplifier (National Instrument PCIe-7842R LX50 Multifunction RIO board) using custom LabView (2013 v.13.0.1f2; National Instruments) and MATLAB (Mathworks, Inc.) software. Visual stimuli: The display was a G4 LED arena 64 with a manual instead of a motorized rotation axis. The arena covered slightly more than one half of a cylinder (216° in azimuth and ~72° in elevation) of the fly's visual field, with the diameter of each pixel subtending at most 2.25° on the fly eye.…”