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 software for 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 Bonsai’s native integration with experimental hardware. BonVision therefore enables easy implementation of closed-loop experiments and communication with behavioural and physiological measurement and manipulation devices, while being open-source, easy to install, and able to run on standard personal computers.