This is now a legacy page. The most recent version of stimulation programs, and all associated documentation, are now available on GitHub: https://github.com/khakhalin/Xenopus-Behavior
Citation: Khakhalin, A. S., Koren, D., Gu, J., Xu, H., & Aizenman, C. D. (2014). Excitation and inhibition in recurrent networks mediate collision avoidance in Xenopus tadpoles. European Journal of Neuroscience, 40(6), 2948-2962.
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrows to target the tadpole, UP arrow to send the circle towards the tadpoles, DOWN arrow to reset the circle.
Classic collision protocol , as it was used in the 2014 paper, but also with a possibility to add sound to the stimulus.
Collision with multisensory stimuli, and cycling of multisensory modes (visual only, auditory only, V+A combo)
Collision with multisensory stimuli, and cycling of inter-stimulus intervals (for a given ISI, it delivers V before A, then V+A together, then V after A. In other words, if the field ISI is not zero, it cycles through ISI, 0, and -ISI values for the inter-stimulus interval)
Temporary citation (until a more relevant paper becomes available): Ramirez CM, Hasan M, Gu J, James EJ, Khakhalin AS, Aizenman CD (2014) Novel Behavioral Paradigms to Assay Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Xenopus laevis Tadpole. SACNAS National Conference. Los Angeles, CA.
OMR with noisy background - main version. You can change grain size, which is good for visual acuity testing. You can have it running in the background (works well with a T-mase), slant the movement at 60° (works well with a triangular maze), or run it in short sweeps (works well with a multi-tadpole rectangular arena)
OMR b/w bars - classic protocol (and in my opinion, outdated)
OMR with bars made of noise - fancy, unused
Strobes and a wheel - a wheel with strobes. At some point I planned to use it with a circular arena, but never had time to.
Citation: James, E. J., Gu, J., Ramirez-Vizcarrondo, C. M., Hasan, M., Truszkowski, T. L., Tan, Y., ... & Aizenman, C. D. (2015). Valproate-induced neurodevelopmental deficits in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(7), 3218-3229.
Citation: Truszkowski, T. L., Carrillo, O. A., Bleier, J., Ramirez-Vizcarrondo, C. M., Felch, D. L., McQuillan, M., ... & Aizenman, C. D. (2017). A cellular mechanism for inverse effectiveness in multisensory integration. Elife, 6, e25392.
Multisensory protocols with a full-field stimulus:
Short-term multisensory plasticity:
Visual habituation - pairing - gap - visual habituation
Comparison of different types of full-field stimuli for visual startles:
Older protocols:
Multisensory checkerboard (bright background, oldest version)
Flipping bars, with contrast control and measurements of actual flip frequency (can be used to check your frame rate)
Multisensory conditioning: Busch S.E., Khakhalin A.S. (2019). Intrinsic temporal tuning of neurons in the optic tectum is shaped by multisensory experience. J Neurophysiol. 2019 Sep 1;122(3):1084-1096.
Multisensory conditioning - current version of the conditioning protocol; with more realistic (non-linear) looming-like stimuli, and a single sound to accompany them.
Inverting multisensory checkerboard - old protocol from Busch Khakhalin 2019. The grid can either invert instantly, or via a looming-style transition. Can also generate bursts of sound accompanying transitions, either in sync, or out of sync (in the exact middle of each period).
Multisensory conditioning with burst presentations - an alternative approach, where instead of one multisensory stimulus delivered every minute or so, you deliver a ramp of 10 closely spaced stimuli, of increasing intensity, and you do it 10 times more rarely. The total number of presentations stays the same, but the style of activation is very different.
OMR habituation protocol:
OMR habituation protocol - here the background always moves, and the direction of this move changes. Put a petri dish on top; the tadpole won't be able to follow, and supposedly they shoudl get habituated.