Dynamics of visual perceptual processing in freely behaving mice
ABSTRACTMice are being used increasing commonly to study visual behaviors, but the time-course of their perceptual dynamics is unclear. Here, using conditional accuracy analysis, a powerful method used to analyze human perception, and drift diffusion modeling, we investigated the dynamics and limits of mouse visual perception with a 2AFC orientation discrimination task. We found that it includes two stages – a short, sensory encoding stage lasting ∼300 ms, which involves the speed-accuracy tradeoff, and a longer visual short-term memory-dependent (VSTM) stage lasting ∼1700 ms. Manipulating stimulus features or adding a foil affected the sensory encoding stage, and manipulating stimulus duration altered the VSTM stage, of mouse perception. Additionally, mice discriminated targets as brief as 100 ms, and exhibited classic psychometric curves in a visual search task. Our results reveal surprising parallels between mouse and human visual perceptual processes, and provide a quantitative scaffold for exploring neural circuit mechanisms of visual perception.