VR simulator for mice helps researchers study Alzheimer’s
A group of scientists from Janelia Research Campus have built their lab mice some sort of an Oculus Rift of their own. Okay, so it’s not a tiny VR headset for rodents — though that would have been amusing to see — but a simulator with walls that touch the mouse’s whiskers on either side. This makes the mouse think it’s moving through a maze, when it’s really just running on a small spherical treadmill. The researchers created the system not because the lab mice needed entertainment: they built it so they can observe how a mammal’s brain reacts to injury, learns how to find routes and forms memories. They believe that by having a better grasp of memory formation, we can also understand diseases that cause memory loss (like Alzheimer’s) a lot better.
Via: Motherboard
Source: Janelia
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