Getting mice to pay attention to two-dimensional screen projections of simulated surroundings can be tricky due to their tendency to notice the external lab settings around them. In a bid to get mice to focus on the experiment at hand, a team of researchers have built their own virtual reality headset sized for a mouse.
As detailed in a new study published Friday in the journal Neuron, a team of engineers at Northwestern University recently designed a VR device for mouse test subjects. By projecting potentially more realistic, immersive, natural surroundings, the team believes researchers are already able to more intricately analyze and study the rodents’ neural activity.
According to Daniel Domeck, the paper’s senior author and an associate professor at Northwestern’s school of neurobiology, researchers have used the same “VR arrays” for the past 15 years to approximate outdoor environments and other experiment settings. But even these advanced lab simulation systems for mice ostensibly only amount to surrounding the animals with computer or projection screens. In these environments, mice will often notice the exterior laboratory space, as well as the flat screens’ two-dimensional imaging.
In Northwestern’s December 8 announcement, Dombeck explained that while the 2D arrays can get the job done, “the animals aren’t as immersed as they would be in a real environment.” He continued, “it takes a lot of training just to get the mice to pay attention to the screens and ignore the lab around them.”
[Related: What’s the difference between VR, AR, and mixed reality?]
Dombeck compares this to watching a TV show while sitting on your living…
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