Scientists Record Sight in the Cat-like Jumping Spider's Brain (VIDEO)

Jumping spiders are known for their ability to spring high into the air. And it's because of this ability that scientists have been unable to get a clear view inside the poppy seed-sized brain of these spiders. The liquid in the spiders' bodies is pressurized, so they don't tolerate usual research techniques. Now, though, scientists have managed to make recordings of neurons associated with the visual perception of a jumping spider.

In this case, the researchers created a tiny hole that self-sealed around a hair-sized tungsten recording electrode. This microelectrode in the spider's brain recorded electrical spikes from neurons in its visual processing networks.

Jumping spiders have unique visual systems that have a nearly 360 degree panoramic view. In addition, these spiders have a pair of large, specialized front-facing eyes that are almost as acute as human eyes. This visual system supports the spiders' hunting behavior; it stalks and pounces on its prey like a cat rather than building webs.

With the new method, the scientists found that the spider's unique visual system allows them to use different sets of eyes to process acuity and motion, requiring the spider to integrate inputs from different sets of eyes in the brain in a nonlinear manner. In other words, the spider needs to have all of its eyes open for its brain to process the information.

The findings reveal a bit more about how a jumping spiders' brain processes information. In addition, the study could be applied to optical sensor technology.

"In the modern age, animals like this are smarter than robots," said James Golden, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "Jumping spiders have been this little black box of behaviors. We can now investigate how these things happen."

The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.

Want to see the spider jumping for yourself? Check out the video here.