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Miniature VR headset to immerse mice in virtual environments to reveal neural activity | The researchers are looking to further develop the goggles, with a lightweight, mobile version for larger rodents.
Cornell researchers built miniature VR headsets to immerse mice more deeply in virtual environments that can help reveal the neural activity that informs spatial navigation and memory function and generate new insights into disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and its potential treatments.
The team’s MouseGoggles – yes, they look as cute as they sound – were created using low-cost, off-the-shelf components, such as smartwatch displays and tiny lenses, and offer visual stimulation over a wide field of view while tracking the mouse’s eye movements and changes in pupil size. Schaffer’s lab, which he runs with Nozomi Nishimura, associate professor of biomedical engineering, develops optics-based tools and techniques that can be used, along with other methodologies, to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to loss of function in neurodegenerative diseases. Beginning about a decade ago, researchers began rigging up cumbersome – and quite costly – projector screens for mice to navigate virtual-reality environments, but the apparatuses are often clunky, and the resulting light pollution and noise can disrupt the experiments.
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