The Eyes of a Mouse

[phkrause]

Scientists have reconstructed videos of what mice are seeing by analyzing their brain activity, a new study revealed yesterday. The research could lay the groundwork for understanding how different animals experience visual input. In recent years, researchers have used fMRI scans to monitor human subjects as they watch images or films. They then recreate those images, including with the help of generative AI tools like Stable Diffusion (see study, w/photo). In the latest study, researchers showed 10-second videos to 10 mice, reconstructing frame-by-frame visuals by analyzing the brain activity of five mouse subjects. Instead of using fMRI scans, which analyze blood flow, these scientists used single-cell recordings, aiming to capture the activity of individual neurons in the visual cortex (about 8,000 neurons per mouse). The goal was to capture more a precise measurement of brain activity.  The team then compared pixel-level data between the original and reconstructed videos. See the video here and the full study here.