GCaMP8 transgenic mice learn to make visual decisions

Transgenic mice engineered to express calcium indicators such as GCaMP have revolutionized exploration of neuronal circuit function. The latest development, GCaMP8 transgenic mice, exhibits enhanced temporal kinetics and sensitivity of neural signals, opening new avenues for studying neuronal dynamics within behaviorally relevant time frames. However, in initial attempts, it has been chalenging to train these mice in visual decision making tasks. Here we show that GCaMP8 transgenic mice, specifically TetO-jGCaMP8s x CaMK2a-tTA mice, learn to perform head-fixed visual decision tasks with a rate and accuracy comparable to wildtype mice. These proof-of-principle results enhance the utility of these transgenic animals in neuroscientific studies of learning and decision making.