Researchers at Northwestern University wanted to study how mice reacted to confronting a bird of prey.

Up until now, such studies have used screens mounted above the mice, but researchers knew the mice could still see the lab environment and that the screens did not create a true 3D simulation.

So, they designed virtual reality goggles to fit around the mice's heads.

"For the past 15 years, we have been using VR systems for mice," said Northwestern's Daniel Dombeck, the study's senior author. "So far, labs have been using big computer or projection screens to surround an animal. For humans, this is like watching a TV in your living room. You still see your couch and your walls. There are cues around you, telling you that you aren't inside the scene. Now think about putting on VR goggles, like Oculus Rift, that take up your full vision. You don't see anything but the projected scene, and a different scene is projected into each eye to create depth information. That's been missing for mice."

Now, you might be tempted to think that wearing a helmet as big as you isn't exactly going to simulate nature.

However, the mice are not directly wearing the goggles.

"We designed and built a custom holder for the goggles," said John Issa, a postdoctoral fellow in Dombeck's laboratory and study co-first author. "The whole optical display — the screens and the lenses — go all the way around the mouse."

To simulate the overhead threat, the researchers projected a shadow overhead above the mice. The mice responded by freezing or running faster.

"The top of a mouse's field of view is very sensitive to detect predators from above, like a bird," said co-first author Dom Pinke, a research specialist in Dombeck's lab. "It's not a learned behavior; it's an imprinted behavior. It's wired inside the mouse's brain."

The researchers were able to map the mice's brain activity during the simulation.

Next, they hope to simulate the mice as predators chasing a fly.

Ultimately, the researchers think the studies might provide some insights into how virtual reality affects the human brain — an area that has not received much study.

Just imagine it.

Given this research and all the advancements in virtual reality technology, we may one day witness a virtual woman standing on a virtual chair screaming In fear of a virtual mouse!

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