Virtual-reality system of the Iowa-gamble-task for head-fixed mice

Abstract

In-vivo electrophysiology techniques, especially multi-unit-recording of awake and behaving rodents implemented with high-density electrodes, provide the data that forms the backbone for unraveling the neural code. Lately, a shift from historically freely moving behavior tasks to head-constrained virtual-reality tasks is occurring, due to the benefit of higher control over the task environment and wider availability of tools and techniques. This thesis is concerned with the development of such a virtual reality system for a behavior task based on the Iowa-Gambling-Task, comprising changing outcome probabilities of reward and punishment, without external guiding cues, which simulates real-life decision making. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part considers both analysis of the virtual-reality system for head-fixed mice, with the above-mentioned behavior task, currently used by the Department of Cognitive Neurobiology at the Medical University Vienna, and analysis of data previously recorded with that particular system. Here the author investigates a group of neurons in the prefrontal cortex of mice, that display a significant difference in their firing rate depending on the reward probability of the gamble-choice.