Creating and controlling visual environments using BonVision
- NeuroGears, United Kingdom
- University College London, United Kingdom
Abstract
Real-time rendering of closed-loop visual environments is important for next-generation understanding of brain function and behaviour, but is often prohibitively difficult for non-experts to implement and is limited to few laboratories worldwide. We developed BonVision as an easy-to-use open-source software for the display of virtual or augmented reality, as well as standard visual stimuli. BonVision has been tested on humans and mice, and is capable of supporting new experimental designs in other animal models of vision. As the architecture is based on the open-source Bonsai graphical programming language, BonVision benefits from native integration with experimental hardware. BonVision therefore enables easy implementation of closed-loop experiments, including real-time interaction with deep neural networks, and communication with behavioural and physiological measurement and manipulation devices.
Data availability
BonVision is an open-source software package available to use under the MIT license. It can be downloaded through the Bonsai (bonsai-rx.org) package manager, and the source code is available at: github.com/bonvision/BonVision. All benchmark programs and data are available at https://github.com/bonvision/benchmarks. Installation instructions, demos and learning tools are available at: bonvision.github.io/.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Wellcome Trust (200501)
- Aman B Saleem
Human Frontiers in Science Program (RGY0076/2018)
- Aman B Saleem
Stavros Niarchos Foundation / Research to Prevent Blindness
- Samuel G Solomon
Medical Research Council (R023808)
- Samuel G Solomon
- Aman B Saleem
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (R004765)
- Samuel G Solomon
- Aman B Saleem
Wellcome Trust: OPen Research (200501/Z/16/A)
- Aman B Saleem
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All experiments were performed in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (United Kingdom) and Home Office (United Kingdom) approved project and personal licenses. The experiments were approved by the University College London Animal Welfare Ethical Review Board under Project License 70/8637.
Human subjects: All procedures were approved by the Experimental Psychology Ethics Committee at University College London (Ethics Application EP/2019/002). We obtained informed consent, and consent to publish from all participants.
Reviewing Editor
- Chris I Baker, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, United States
Publication history
- Received: December 7, 2020
- Accepted: April 20, 2021
- Accepted Manuscript published: April 21, 2021 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: May 7, 2021 (version 2)
- Version of Record updated: May 19, 2021 (version 3)
Copyright
© 2021, Lopes et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Creating and controlling visual environments using BonVision
eLife 10:e65541.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.65541
Further reading
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- Neuroscience
Theta and gamma oscillations in the medial temporal lobe are suggested to play a critical role for human memory formation via establishing synchrony in neural assemblies. Arguably, such synchrony facilitates efficient information transfer between neurons and enhances synaptic plasticity, both of which benefit episodic memory formation. However, to date little evidence exists from humans that would provide direct evidence for such a specific role of theta and gamma oscillations for episodic memory formation. Here, we investigate how oscillations shape the temporal structure of neural firing during memory formation in the medial temporal lobe. We measured neural firing and local field potentials in human epilepsy patients via micro-wire electrode recordings to analyze whether brain oscillations are related to co-incidences of firing between neurons during successful and unsuccessful encoding of episodic memories. The results show that phase-coupling of neurons to faster theta and gamma oscillations correlates with co-firing at short latencies (~20–30 ms) and occurs during successful memory formation. Phase-coupling at slower oscillations in these same frequency bands, in contrast, correlates with longer co-firing latencies and occurs during memory failure. Thus, our findings suggest that neural oscillations play a role for the synchronization of neural firing in the medial temporal lobe during the encoding of episodic memories.
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- Neuroscience
Hippocampal-dependent memory is thought to be supported by distinct connectivity states, with strong input to the hippocampus benefitting encoding and weak input benefitting retrieval. Previous research in rodents suggests that the hippocampal theta oscillation orchestrates the transition between these states, with opposite phase angles predicting minimal versus maximal input. We investigated whether this phase dependence exists in humans using network-targeted intracranial stimulation. Intracranial local field potentials were recorded from individuals with epilepsy undergoing medically necessary stereotactic electroencephalographic recording. In each subject, biphasic bipolar direct electrical stimulation was delivered to lateral temporal sites with demonstrated connectivity to hippocampus. Lateral temporal stimulation evoked ipsilateral hippocampal potentials with distinct early and late components. Using evoked component amplitude to measure functional connectivity, we assessed whether the phase of hippocampal theta predicted relatively high versus low connectivity. We observed an increase in the continuous phase–amplitude relationship selective to the early and late components of the response evoked by lateral temporal stimulation. The maximal difference in these evoked component amplitudes occurred across 180 degrees of separation in the hippocampal theta rhythm; that is, the greatest difference in component amplitude was observed when stimulation was delivered at theta peak versus trough. The pattern of theta-phase dependence observed for hippocampus was not identified for control locations. These findings demonstrate that hippocampal receptivity to input varies with theta phase, suggesting that theta phase reflects connectivity states of human hippocampal networks. These findings confirm a putative mechanism by which neural oscillations modulate human hippocampal function.
