Researchers say they have finally found a way to easily use virtual reality goggles in lab mice. This unusual setup has real-world applications, and could help scientists study how mice respond to things they commonly encounter in the wild, such as birds of prey.
Sending a mouse into virtual reality is not a new concept. Ideally, VR would allow scientists to simulate the mouse’s natural environment under more controlled conditions. But even today’s most advanced systems are cumbersome. For example, a mouse is placed on a treadmill surrounded by computers and projection screens, but these screens can’t cover the entire lab and typically wait until the mouse is focused on his VR environment. It also takes time.
Researchers at Northwestern University say they have designed a VR structure that is more realistic for lab mice, aptly called the iMRSIV (pronounced “immersive”) system. This setup is very similar to his Oculus Rift and other popular VR goggles, but the rodent doesn’t actually wear mouse-sized lenses. Instead, goggles are attached to the base of the system, and the mouse is placed close enough to the goggles to cover the entire field of view. Thanks to the treadmill, the mouse can also run on the spot.
in a paper published In Friday’s journal Neuron, the research team found that mice seemed to get used to the iMRSIV system much faster than with traditional VR setups.
“We went through the same kind of training paradigm as we did in the past, but the mice with the goggles learned faster,” study senior author Daniel Dombeck said in the paper. statement From university. “After the first session they were already able to complete the task. They knew where to run and were looking for the right place to get the reward. We think they may not actually need as much training because they can interact with their environment in such a way.”
Dombeck and his team also tested whether the goggles could accurately simulate natural threats overhead, such as birds, something that hasn’t been possible in the past. To do this, they created a projection of an expanding dark disk emerging from the top of the goggles. When mice see this projection, they tend to cower or run faster, a reaction typically seen in the wild.
The researchers next hope to simulate other common occurrences in nature, such as scenarios in which rats chase potential small prey. Although there are still some things to work on, the team feels their setup can offer many advantages over other systems currently available.
“Traditional VR systems are very complex,” Dombeck says. “It’s expensive and it’s big. You need a large lab with plenty of space. Additionally, the long time it takes to train a mouse to perform a task limits the number of experiments you can perform.” Although we are still working on improvements, our goggles are small, relatively inexpensive, and also very easy to use. This could make VR technology available to other labs. There is a sex.”