Mice Can Watch Film Noir, Among Other Things, Scientists Say In New Study

Humans may not be the only species who like films. In fact, it seems that mice may also like them too. To be more specific, researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle think that they could be fans of film noir.

Why Scientists Are Showing Orson Welles’ ‘Touch of Evil’ to Mice https://t.co/DMTXgcCZr3 Via @KQEDscience pic.twitter.com/htMxDhnbcp

— KQED (@KQED) July 14, 2016

Of course, they can't answer that question yet, but according to the Seattle Times, they have succeeded in capturing video images of nerve signals flashing through mice brains as they watched the opening sequence of Orson Welles's "Touch of Evil."

Neuroscientist Shawn Olsen shared, "We want to produce a body of data that hasn't been generated anywhere else before, so that we can ask questions no one has asked before."

Forbes noted that the Observatory will offer data that shows the cellular activity of the visual cortex of the mice, which scientists can use to figure out how their brains work. Since mice are so similar to humans in a genetic standpoint, the knowledge could unravel many of the mysteries that they are trying to solve about the human brain, and by extension, what can happen when it malfunctions.

The dataset is limited, but it will be expanded over time. Today, it includes a survey of four different areas of the visual cortex - the animals were observed using cameras and devices that provided a window to their brains as they were shown these stimuli.

Video images from the Allen Brain Observatory. showed the mice neurons lighting up like stars in the Milky Way when they were shown the film. This observatory has a neurological database like no other, and it revealed the way brain cells respond to visual stimuli ranging from old films to simple grid lines.

On the use of the observatory, R. Clay Reid, senior investigator at the Allen Institute said, "By the time we're finished, it will be such a complete encyclopedic dataset that's online and that scientists can share and use as a starting point [to analyze the brain]."