Japanese Scientists Filmed the Thoughts of a Fish for the First Time

The Japanese scientists from the Saitama University in the first week of February 2013 filmed for the first time, the thoughts of a fish while it tracks the prey, revealing about the precision of the brain activity that governs its hunting behaviour. The study is a first of its kind and it led to real-time recording of the precise brain processes in the animal.

In the similar studies conducted earlier, the patterns of the brain activities while making use of MRI scans were studied. These MRI scans were used to find out when the different regions of a brain switched on and off. However, this new study used a very different approach for recording which individual cells were being used at a particular moment.

The filmed thoughts are very important because this technology can be used for understanding the thought process of the animals as well as the humans. Also, it could be used for learning about the abnormalities which lead to increase in diseases of a brain.

In the study, the scientists demonstrated the map in a brain of the Zebra fish. This map was also present in human brain.  This could greatly help in interpreting the behaviour of an animal which includes understanding their anger, joy, memory, learning and much more.

In their study, the scientists modified the larvae of the Zebra Fish genetically so that the neurons in their optic tectum emitted a fluorescent green light when being used. The larvae of Zebra Fish have transparent bodies which meant that the activities of brain cells could be easily filmed in a real-time with the help of a microscope and a high-resolution camera.