Scientists make tiny VR goggles to help study mice brains
People have been exploring the possibilities of virtual reality for years, and now mice are getting the chance to try out this cutting edge technology. Cornell University researchers made MouseGoggles, a small virtual reality (VR) device that will be used to study how mice’s brains react to VR. Even though they are cute by accident, these goggles are used for an important reason: to help researchers learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and other brain conditions.
Mice have long been vital to scientific studies, often showing in famous maze tests used to examine behaviour and brain processes. Professor Chris Schaffer, who runs a lab at Cornell focusing on the molecular and cellular processes of neurological diseases, says that standard mazes often fall short in studying how the brain works.
Scientists started putting mice into virtual worlds through big display systems about ten years ago. However the noise and light from these sets made it hard to get correct information about behavior. The Cornell team chose to give their study subjects a more realistic and controlled virtual world, which is how MouseGoggles came to be.
Schaffer said that studying more normal brain processes is possible by making the behavioral tasks more involved.
Designing VR goggles for mice turns out to be simpler than anticipated. Matthew Isaacson, a postdoctoral researcher, made the MouseGoggles using screens from current smartwatches and optical glasses that can be bought in stores. Rather than being a portable device, the goggles are fixed, with the mouse set on a track in front of the VR eyepieces. Researchers are recording the mouse’s brain activity as it negotiates these virtual settings.
The MouseGoggles were tried on two key parts of the brain. Brain scans of the hippocampus showed that the brain could understand the virtual world, and readings of the visual cortex proved that the goggles cast clear images onto the retinas of the animal. To make it look like real life, the team used dark spots that looked like predators. The fact that almost all of the mice responded as if the threat were real shows how well the VR setting worked.
Schaffer first planned to share the results a year ago. During peer review, however, it was suggested that cameras be added to the goggles so that the researchers could watch how the mice’s pupils changed. This is a very important neuroscience aspect. Although the change proved difficult, the final version of MouseGoggles includes pupillometry and eye-tracking features. Other groups have also looked into VR goggles for mice, but Schaffer says theirs is unique because it has eye-tracking built in.
Though the stationary MouseGoggles represent a huge improvement in brain research, the team is already planning for future developments. Plans call for making a portable version of the goggles for bigger mice like rats and shrews and adding more senses, like smell and tasting, to make the VR experience better. Schaffer thinks that these changes could lead to even more useful information about the brain.
