It turns out that humans aren’t the only ones diving into the world of virtual reality; scientists have now introduced an exciting new technology that lets mice explore VR in a way that’s both realistic and downright cute. This innovation comes from researchers at Cornell University, who’ve crafted a system they call “MouseGoggles.” When the mice were put to the test with these goggles, they appeared to vividly react to the virtual stimuli. This promising development could simplify the use of VR in animal studies going forward.
At first glance, the concept of mice in VR might sound amusing, but there’s genuine scientific utility behind it. Ideally, this kind of technology could help researchers simulate natural environments for mice in a more controlled laboratory setting. Currently, the typical VR setups are rather bulky and often involve placing mice on a treadmill surrounded by computers or projection screens. These screens fall short of covering a mouse’s entire field of view and frequently fail to evoke any response from the mice.
Cornell’s team believes MouseGoggles marks a significant improvement over existing VR systems for mice. Instead of crafting a mini version of something like an Oculus Rift from scratch, they cleverly utilized small, affordable components borrowed from smartwatches and similar gadgets. As with other VR systems, the mice are placed on a treadmill when using MouseGoggles, with their heads fixed in place while they’re exposed to visual cues.
Lead scientist Matthew Isaacson, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell, shared with the university news outlet, the Cornell Chronicle, “It really drew from this hacker’s mindset of repurposing available parts for a new context. The perfect-sized display for a mouse VR headset turned out to be the displays already made for smartwatches. We were pretty fortunate to not have to invent anything from the ground up since the inexpensive parts were readily available.”
To test their system’s effectiveness, the researchers presented the mice with different stimuli and monitored their brain activity alongside their reactions. Through various trials, they confirmed that the mice did indeed perceive and respond to the VR settings as intended. For example, in one scenario, the mice’s reaction was observed when confronted with a darkening spot, simulating a potential predator.
Isaacson recalled, “In the usual VR setups with large screens, the mice just didn’t react. But nearly every mouse startled the first time they experienced it with the goggles. They exhibited a pronounced startle response, almost as if they genuinely believed a predator was approaching.”
These discoveries were published earlier this month in the scientific journal Nature Methods. The advent of more immersive VR experiences for mice holds potential for future research benefits. Enhanced VR experiments could assist scientists in better examining brain activity in mice, particularly those engineered to mimic Alzheimer’s disease, by refining our understanding of spatial navigation and memory. They could also advance fundamental research testing new treatments for neurological disorders.
Interestingly, Isaacson and his team aren’t the only ones working on VR technology for mice, but their approach is noteworthy for its inclusion of eye and pupil tracking. They are already in the process of designing a portable VR setup for use with larger rodents like rats or tree shrews. Furthermore, they have ambitious plans for future upgrades, which may include adding sensory elements to simulate taste and smell, further enriching the VR experience.
