The Future of Neuroscience

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Naturalistic setup is part of a growing movement to step away from some of the lab experiments that neuroscientists have used for decades. Some teams are studying specific behaviours while recording brain activity using electrodes mounted on animals' heads. Other labs let mice mind their own business and catalogue what they do from moment to moment. Even seemingly simple behaviour has a complexity that is interesting to neuroscientists, says data.

Neuroscientists are creating more naturalistic experiments that they hope will provide a more nuanced understanding of animal — and human — behaviour.

These set-ups differ from the classic laboratory experiments that have been used for decades, and may help in the understanding of behaviours such as escaping a predator or finding scarce food. By studying these natural actions, scientists are hoping to glean lessons about the brain and behaviour that are more holistic and more relevant to everyday activity than ever before.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Lab mice go wild: making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain

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