Scientists Create VR Goggles For Mice To Simulate Owl Attacks

Researchers at Illinois’ Northwestern University have developed virtual reality (VR) goggles for mice enabling them to simulate bird attacks on the rodents. The unique goggles enable more accurate simulation of natural environments, overcoming challenges associated with traditional setups using screens surrounding the mice. In laboratory settings, observing real-time brain activity in animals engaging with the actual world is inherently complex. To address this difficulty, scientists use VR and provide animals with a treadmill to navigate virtual mazes projected onto surrounding screens while they study brain activity. However, these setups fail to fully capture reality as they are more akin to watching images on a huge TV screen. To address these limitations, the researchers introduced Miniature Rodent Stereo Illumination VR (iMRSIV). It has two lenses and screens, one for each side of the mouse's head, providing a 180-degree field-of-view that fully immerses the mouse and excludes the surrounding environment. The researchers found that mice wearing the iMRSIV goggles exhibited brain activation patterns similar to freely moving animals. The iMRSIV goggles can also then used to simulate an overhead threat like a swooping owl. Looking ahead, the researchers aim to explore situations where mice act as predators rather than prey, observing brain activity during activities such as chasing a fly.