To Decode the Brain, Scientists Automate the Study of Behavior Quanta Magazine

The quest to understand what's happening inside the minds and brains of animals has taken neuroscientists down many surprising paths: from peering directly into living brains, to controlling neurons with bursts of light, to building intricate contraptions and virtual reality environments. In 2013, it took the neurobiologist Bob Datta and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School to a Best Buy down the street from their lab. At the electronics store, they found what they needed: an Xbox Kinect, a gaming device that senses a player's motions. The scientists wanted to monitor in exhaustive detail the body movements of the mice they were studying, but none of the usual laboratory techniques seemed up to the task. So Datta's group turned to the toy, using it to collect three-dimensional motor information from the animals as they explored their environment.