Journal
NATURE METHODS
Volume 14, Issue 10, Pages 995-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/NMETH.4399
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Funding
- European Research Council (ERC) starting grants [281884, 311701, 337011]
- Wiener Wissenschafts-, Forschungs- und Technologiefonds (WWTF) grant [CS2011-029]
- FWF [P28970, P29077]
- NSF grants [0848755, IOS-1355061, EAGER-IOS-1251585]
- ONR [N00014-09-1-1074, N00014-14-1-0635]
- ARO [W911NG-11-1-0385, W911NF-14-1-0431]
- IMP
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
- University of Vienna (research platform Rhythms of Life)
- Struktur- und Innovationsfonds fur die Forschung (SI-BW) of the State of Baden-Wurttemberg
- Max Planck Society
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [P29077, P28970] Funding Source: Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
- European Research Council (ERC) [311701, 337011, 281884] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [1355061] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Standard animal behavior paradigms incompletely mimic nature and thus limit our understanding of behavior and brain function. Virtual reality (VR) can help, but it poses challenges. Typical VR systems require movement restrictions but disrupt sensorimotor experience, causing neuronal and behavioral alterations. We report the development of FreemoVR, a VR system for freely moving animals. We validate immersive VR for mice, flies, and zebrafish. FreemoVR allows instant, disruption-free environmental reconfigurations and interactions between real organisms and computer-controlled agents. Using the FreemoVR platform, we established a height-aversion assay in mice and studied visuomotor effects in Drosophila and zebrafish. Furthermore, by photorealistically mimicking zebrafish we discovered that effective social influence depends on a prospective leader balancing its internally preferred directional choice with social interaction. FreemoVR technology facilitates detailed investigations into neural function and behavior through the precise manipulation of sensorimotor feedback loops in unrestrained animals.
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