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posted by mrpg on Friday January 13 2017, @08:20AM   Printer-friendly
from the a-friend-like-ben dept.

An optogenetics technique has been used to activate mouse neurons associated with predatory behavior:

With a flash of light, researchers have induced mice to pounce on anything in their line of sight. Researchers from Yale University and the University of São Paulo isolated the regions of the mouse brain that control both hunting and biting, and say they can activate the neurons involved on command. The research should help illuminate another small part of the neural pathways that connect the outside world to our internal computations.

In this case, the researchers were interested in the link between an outside stimulus — like seeing a delicious cricket — and an action, such as pouncing on said cricket. Their research [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.12.027] [DX], published Thursday in Cell, looks at the second part of that question. The researchers used a technique called optogenetics to empirically test the findings of a previous paper that described mouse brain regions involved in predatory behavior. They implanted genetic material from light-sensitive algae into neurons that control hunting and biting, and used flashes of laser light to stimulate them.

The results were convincing: When target regions were activated, the mice pounced without a second thought, following their predatory instincts. When the laser turned off, the mice returned to normal behavior. And the mice didn't limit their attacks to prey: When the kill switch was activated, they attacked sticks and bottle caps as well.

Also at NPR, Science Magazine, and The Guardian.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @08:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @08:48AM (#453218)

    River Tam was brainwashed to believe a gun was a stick.