Researchers, who have done tons of studies on mice, may have made the most interesting initiative to date. A group of scientists working at Northwestern University in the USA designed a special virtual reality glasses to monitor the brain activities of mice. The glasses cover the mouse’s body pointlessly.
In fact, studies on mice were already being done with the help of virtual reality technologies. However, the latest study has added a new dimension to this. Virtual reality glasses, which allow measuring the brain activity of mice regarding how they protect themselves from birds of prey, help understand what the mouse does when under attack.
This is what virtual reality glasses developed for mice look like
The virtual reality glasses, called Miniature Rodent Stereo Illumination VR (iMRSIV), simulate the entire environment of a mouse. Of course, creating an environment is not the only work done in this process. Along with the physical reactions of the mice, their brain activities at the time of the attack were also recorded. Thus, it became clear how the mouse brain is protected from the attacks of birds of prey.
Dom Pinke, one of the lead authors of the research, made statements about their findings. Stating that the reactions of mice to attacks are not learned later, the scientist stated that mice have the instinct to protect against attacks from birth. With this study, another issue regarding mice was clarified.
The findings were published on Neuron.
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