Abstract
A major problem facing behavioral neuroscientists is a lack of unified, vendor-distributed data acquisition systems that allow stimulus presentation and behavioral monitoring while recording neural activity. Numerous systems perform one of these tasks well independently, but to our knowledge, a useful package with a straightforward user interface does not exist. Here we describe the development of a flexible, script-based user interface that enables customization for real-time stimulus presentation, behavioral monitoring and data acquisition. The experimental design can also incorporate neural microstimulation paradigms. We used this interface to deliver multimodal, auditory and visual (images or video) stimuli to a nonhuman primate and acquire single-unit data. Our design is cost-effective and works well with commercially available hardware and software. Our design incorporates a script, providing high-level control of data acquisition via a sequencer running on a digital signal processor to enable behaviorally triggered control of the presentation of visual and auditory stimuli. Our experiments were conducted in combination with eye-tracking hardware. The script, however, is designed to be broadly useful to neuroscientists who may want to deliver stimuli of different modalities using any animal model.
Highlights
In neurophysiological research, correlating neural signals driven by stimulus presentation and behavioral response needs to be completed within a limited time frame, generally less than 2 hours when conducted with non-human primates
As proof of concept, we present here a number of behavioral and neural responses from various brain structures that are activated in response to naturalistic stimuli presented within our experimental set up
We found that each sound produced a distinct temporal response pattern
Summary
In neurophysiological research, correlating neural signals driven by stimulus presentation and behavioral response needs to be completed within a limited time frame, generally less than 2 hours when conducted with non-human primates. This requires effective and efficient control of presentation of stimuli, acquisition of data, and monitoring of behavior for reward and task progression. Behavioral neuroscientists have to continuously struggle to both keep up with technological advances to accelerate data throughput and to customize stimulus delivery and data acquisition systems to do cutting-edge research This adds to the burden of labor-intensive electrophysiological recordings from single or multiple neurons in awake-behaving animals, which continues to be one of the most reliable and useful way to understand neural computations and function. Even the choice of hardware and software packages that laboratory personnel could interface with and manipulate largely depends upon the available expertise of those working in the laboratory and frequently shifts with the departure of key personnel
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