Hmmm, scientists hooked up a goldfish's brain to a computer helmet
If you have ever wondered how fish get around without bumping into anything underwater, a research team in Israel decided the best way to get the answer was by wiring goldfish brains to a computer.
In a study (opens in new tab)(via The New York Times(opens in new tab)) conducted at Ben-Gurion University, researchers outfitted 15 goldfish with a special cyberpunk-esque headgear «to study this fundamental cognitive component in fish» by recording the «activity of neurons in the central area of the goldfish telencephalon while the fish were freely navigating in a quasi-2D water tank embedded in a 3D environment.»
“Navigation is an extremely important aspect of behavior because we navigate to find food, to find shelter, to escape predators," said Ronen Segev, a neuroscientist at Ben-Gurion University, who was part of the team of team that performed the fish brain surgery.
The surgery involved exposing the brain and attaching electrodes that were the size of a strand of human hair to a recording device that monitored the fish's brain activity. The surgeries had to be performed out of the water, so the brain surgeons pumped water and anesthetics into the fish's mouths, ensuring they would survive the procedure.
The monitors, which look like silly little sci-fi hats, were sealed in a waterproof case with a bit of plastic foam at the top to keep it buoyant enough so the fish could swim normally and not be weighed down.
Once the goldfish recovered from their surgeries, they participated in swimming trials that involved navigating a special tank two feet long and six inches wide. What researchers discovered was that as the fish swam closer to the tank's edge, the navigational cells in their brains fired up. Another member of
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