Biology subjects

Oesch, L. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Oesch, L. T..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Miniscope Zero: a fully wireless, single-cell-resolution miniature microscope for imaging neural dynamics in freely behaving animals

Imaging neural fluorescence dynamics during unconstrained behavior remains a major challenge in neuroscience. Head-mounted miniature one-photon microscopes enable in vivo recordings from freely behaving animals. Still, their power and data requirements typically necessitate tethers or heavy batteries, which constrain experiments and may introduce behavioral artifacts. We present Miniscope Zero, a fully wireless miniature microscope platform combining quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR) wireless power transfer with a high-bandwidth optical data link. The system delivers >500 mW of receiver power across a 2,500 cm2 behavioral arena and streams imaging data at 8 Mbps, supporting real-time data acquisition. Miniscope Zero provides a typical field of view of 600 m x 600 m and a 2.6-fold higher light-collection efficiency than the UCLA Miniscope v4. We demonstrate wireless CA1 GCaMP6f recordings during open-field navigation, enclosed-maze exploration, simultaneous multi-animal imaging, and extended three-dimensional behavior, enabling long-duration cellular-resolution imaging without tether-induced constraints.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Altered Use of Prior Expectations and Modified Neural Dynamics in a Mouse Model of Autism

In dynamic environments, updating beliefs based on past experiences (priors) is essential for optimal decision-making. Prior utilization is often impaired in psychiatric disorders, affecting perception and behavior. We investigate how Neurexin1 (Nrxn1 ) loss-of-function disrupts this process, providing insight into circuit deficits underlying sensorimotor dysfunction. While the synaptic role of Nrxn1 role is well studied, its impact on network dynamics and decision-making behavior remain unclear. Using widefield calcium imaging, we assess cortex-wide activity in mice performing a two-choice task to probe how priors influence visually-guided decisions. This task requires the mouse to combine sensory evidence with the prior probability over the stimulus side. We find Nrxn1 KO mice underutilized priors and were slower to update choices based on feedback. During decision-making, cortex-wide cortical activity is both elevated and increasingly correlated in Nrxn1 KO mice, independent of task period. Moreover, a larger fraction of cortical variance was explained by movement variables, consistent with stronger coupling of cortical activity to motor signals and a bias toward movement-related dynamics. These findings suggest that core computations underlying decision-making, such as integrating past experience with current evidence, depend on intact synaptic mechanisms shaped by genes like Nrxn1.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Anterior cingulate cortex mixes retrospective cognitive signals and ongoing movement signatures during decision-making

In dynamic environments, animals must closely monitor the effects of their actions to inform switches in behavioral strategy. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) neurons track decision outcomes in these environments. Yet, it remains unclear whether ACC neurons similarly monitor behavioral history in static environments and, if so, whether these signals are distinct from movement representations. We recorded large-scale ACC activity in freely moving mice making visual evidence-accumulation decisions. Many ACC neurons exhibited nonlinear mixed selectivity for previous choices and outcomes (trial history) and were modulated by movements. Trial history could be stably decoded from population activity and accounted for a separable component of neural activity than posture and movements. Trial history encoding was conserved across different subjects and was unaffected by fluctuating behavioral biases. These findings demonstrate that trial history monitoring in ACC is implemented in a conserved population code that is independent of the volatility of subjects task environment.

neuroscience↗