Biology subjects

Horrocks, E. A. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Horrocks, E. A. B..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Gait kinematics dynamically tune optic flow motion-in-depth perception during human locomotion

Behavior generates continuous sensorimotor contingencies that the brain must process. In particular, locomotion produces optic flow, which is frequently noisy and ambiguous during navigation. Integrating non-visual self-motion signals can therefore provide a computational advantage to resolve this sensory uncertainty. To investigate this we developed a novel head-mounted 3D motion coherence paradigm. We found that walking dissociably alters perceptual sensitivity and bias for optic flow, dependent on stimulus speed. Rather than acting as a binary state change, these modulations scale dynamically with step frequency. While slow stepping impairs sensitivity to optic flow, fast stepping rescues this deficit. Simultaneously, higher step frequencies drive a progressive shift in perceptual bias, consistent with canceling expected self-generated flow. Our results indicate that optic flow perception during locomotion is modulated by active processes, encompassing both discrete behavioral state changes and continuous, dynamic sensorimotor integration. Broadly, these findings demonstrate that the brain leverages natural contingencies between behavior and expected sensory feedback to actively modulate perception.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Interplay of sleep neural oscillations enhances coordinated memory reactivation between cortex and hippocampus

Memory consolidation during sleep requires coordinated reactivation of specific experiences across hippocampus and cortex. This process occurs with synchronized neural oscillations including cortical slow waves, thalamocortical spindles, and hippocampal sharp-wave ripples. While temporal coupling of these rhythms is implicated in consolidation, a fundamental question remains: do oscillations reflect a general increase in communication, or do they selectively coordinate which memories are reactivated together across regions? Here we segregated competing memory representations in primary visual cortex by training mice on two visually distinct virtual reality tracks, each restricted to one visual hemifield, rendering their representations lateralized in cortex. Using large-scale electrophysiology, we demonstrate that hippocampus and cortex coherently reactivate the same memories. Temporally, the cortical memory trace active before and after a ripple is coherent with the memory hippocampus reactivates. Crucially, this reactivation coherence is maximally enhanced by high hippocampal ripple power in concert with high cortical spindle-band power and slow oscillation trough phase localized to the dominant memory trace reactivating. Our findings establish that sleep oscillations coordinate content-specific cortico-hippocampal reactivation necessary for consolidation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Locomotion selectively enhances visual speed encoding in mouse medial higher visual areas

Mammalian visual systems are comprised of multiple brain areas with distinct functional roles. Whilst functional specialisations have been proposed in the mouse based on visual feature encoding, the extent to which these specialisations are contingent on ongoing behaviour is unknown. To address this we analysed neural encoding of visual motion stimuli by thousands of neurons recorded across six cortical and two thalamic mouse visual areas while mice were stationary or locomoting. We found locomotion selectively enhanced visual speed encoding in medial higher visual cortical areas, indicating that these areas may be specialised for the processing visual motion during locomotion. By contrast, encoding of drifting gratings direction was enhanced non-selectively across the mouse visual cortex during locomotion. Our results therefore reveal how a complex interplay of sensory input and ongoing behaviour differentially shapes the efficacy of sensory processing in mouse higher visual areas.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Distinct neural dynamics underlie the encoding of visual speed in stationary and running mice

Sensory experiences are often driven by an animals self-motion and locomotion is known to modulate neural responses in the mouse visual system. This modulation is hypothesised to improve the processing of behaviourally relevant visual inputs, which may change rapidly during locomotion. However, little is known about how locomotion modulates the temporal dynamics (time courses) of visually-evoked neural responses. Here, we analysed the temporal dynamics of single neuron and population responses to dot field stimuli moving at a range of visual speeds using the Visual Coding dataset from the Allen Institute for Brain Science1. Single neuron responses had diverse temporal dynamics that varied between stationary and running sessions. Increased dynamic range and more reliable responses in running sessions enabled faster, stronger and more persistent encoding of visual speed. Population activity reflected the temporal dynamics of single neuron responses, including their modulation by locomotor state - neural trajectories of population activity made more direct transitions between baseline and stimulus steady states in running sessions. The structure of population coding also changed with locomotor state - population activity prioritised the encoding of visual speed in running, but not stationary sessions. Our results reveal a profound influence of locomotion on the temporal dynamics of neural responses. We demonstrate that during locomotion, mouse visual areas prioritise the encoding of potentially fast-changing, behaviourally relevant visual features.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

BonVision - an open-source software to create and control visual environments

Real-time rendering of closed-loop visual environments is necessary for next-generation understanding of brain function and behaviour, but is prohibitively difficult for non-experts to implement and is limited to few laboratories worldwide. We developed BonVision as an easy-to-use open-source software for the display of virtual or augmented reality, as well as standard visual stimuli. As the architecture is based on the open-source Bonsai graphical programming language, BonVision benefits from native integration with experimental hardware. BonVision therefore enables easy implementation of closed-loop experiments, including real-time interaction with deep neural networks and communication with behavioural and physiological measurement and manipulation devices.

neuroscience↗