Researchers have developed a set of virtual reality (VR) goggles designed for lab mice, marking a new frontier in brain research. This innovation, detailed in a recent report published in Nature Methods, allows scientists to provide immersive VR experiences for the mice while capturing real-time fluorescent images of their brain activity.

The goggles, which are much larger than the tiny rodents they are intended for, were created using low-cost components such as smartwatch displays and small lenses, according to the researchers.

Matthew Isaacson, co-lead investigator and post-doctoral researcher at Cornell University, noted that the project benefited from a "hacker ethos," using off-the-shelf parts in new contexts. "The perfect size display, as it turns out, for a mouse VR headset is pretty much already made for smart watches," he explained. "We were fortunate that we didn’t have to design anything from scratch. All the inexpensive parts were easy to source."

Mice have long been subjects in brain activity studies. About ten years ago, researchers began setting up bulky projector screens for virtual environments, but these setups often generated excessive light and noise, disrupting experiments.

"The more immersive we make that behavioral task, the more naturalistic the brain function we study," said Chris Schaffer, senior researcher and professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell.

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The new VR system, dubbed MouseGoggles, requires mice to stand on a ball-shaped treadmill with their head fixed in place. The headset is attached to their head and stabilized with a rod while the mouse runs on the treadmill. To test the effectiveness of the goggles, researchers projected the image of a dark blotch that seemed to approach the mice. In previous setups with large screens, the mice showed no reaction, but with the new goggles, nearly every mouse startled, as if it were being threatened by a looming predator.

Researchers also examined brain regions to ensure the VR images were working properly. Data from the primary visual cortex confirmed that the goggles produced sharp, high-contrast images visible to the mice, while readings from the hippocampus showed that the mice successfully mapped the virtual environment.

These goggles could help researchers study how the brain responds as mammals move through their environment, potentially providing insights into disorders like Alzheimer's disease. The team plans to further develop the goggles, including a mobile version for larger rodents like rats, and aims to incorporate additional senses such as taste and smell into the VR experience.

"I think five-sense virtual reality for mice is a direction to go for experiments," Schaffer said, "where we’re trying to understand how mice integrate sensory information and make decisions based on internal motivations like the need for rest or food."