The Francis Crick Institute, Cortical Circuits Laboratory, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Francis Crick Institute, Making Science and Technology Platform, London NW1 1AT, UK.
The Francis Crick Institute, Cortical Circuits Laboratory, London NW1 1AT, UK.
J Neurosci Methods. 2024 Jan 1;401:110002. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.110002. Epub 2023 Nov 2.
Head fixation allows the recording and presentation of controlled stimuli and is used to study neural processes underlying spatial navigation. However, it disrupts the head direction system because of the lack of vestibular stimulation. To overcome this limitation, we developed a novel rotation platform which can be driven by the experimenter (open-loop) or by animal movement (closed-loop). The platform is modular, affordable, easy to build and open source. Additional modules presented here include cameras for monitoring eye movements, visual virtual reality, and a micro-manipulator for positioning various probes for recording or optical interference. We demonstrate the utility of the platform by recording eye movements and showing the robust activation of head-direction cells. This novel experimental apparatus combines the advantages of head fixation and intact vestibular activity in the horizontal plane. The open-loop mode can be used to study e.g., vestibular sensory representation and processing, while the closed-loop mode allows animals to navigate in rotational space, providing a better substrate for 2-D navigation in virtual environments. The full build documentation is maintained at https://ranczlab.github.io/RPM/.
头部固定允许记录和呈现受控刺激，并用于研究空间导航的神经过程。然而，由于缺乏前庭刺激，它会破坏头方向系统。为了克服这一限制，我们开发了一种新型旋转平台，可以由实验者驱动（开环）或动物运动驱动（闭环）。该平台具有模块化、经济实惠、易于构建和开源的特点。这里展示的附加模块包括用于监测眼球运动的摄像机、视觉虚拟现实和一个微操纵器，用于定位各种用于记录或光干涉的探头。我们通过记录眼球运动并显示对头方向细胞的强烈激活来证明该平台的实用性。这种新型实验设备结合了头部固定和水平面上完整的前庭活动的优点。开环模式可用于研究例如前庭感觉表示和处理，而闭环模式允许动物在旋转空间中导航，为虚拟环境中的 2-D 导航提供更好的基础。完整的构建文档可在 https://ranczlab.github.io/RPM/ 上获得。
