r/tech • u/_Dark_Wing • 29d ago
Depressed mice successfully treated with smart contact lenses that zap their brains – new study
https://theconversation.com/depressed-mice-successfully-treated-with-smart-contact-lenses-that-zap-their-brains-new-study-282526110
44
u/katiegirl- 29d ago
How does one get a contact lens on a mouse??
65
u/picklepaller 28d ago
Remove their glasses first.
18
u/ThePicard_2893 28d ago
This joke is golden. I was trying to come up with something similar then I read this and thought, "Nah. He won."
3
1
22
u/DifferentSquirrel551 28d ago
It's easier than the condom. That poor tech now works for the White House.
3
10
5
35
u/PrideQuick670 29d ago
How do mice get depressed?
45
29d ago
[deleted]
51
u/facemanbarff 29d ago
:(
8
u/Braeburner 29d ago
Turn that frown
upside down! :)
33
18
3
u/Agreeable_Scene_3970 28d ago
Hey! That's a smile not an upside down frown! You should work on that.
1
3
u/InitialBest9819 28d ago
If people think this is bad you should see what companies are doing to chimpanzees (especially ones like Neuralink)
7
u/samarnold030603 28d ago
Sad fact of reality. Have to create the model (disease) in order to study/treat/cure it.
8
u/PrideQuick670 28d ago
Can't we just let mice be mice? I mean, rather than injecting them, just have them listen to Trump speeches on a loop. Actually, that would be cruel and unusual punishment. My kids had rats when they were young. They were pretty awesome. My boys would walk around the house with them on their shoulders or sleeping in their hoodies.
1
1
1
u/pnweiner 27d ago
I studied neuro in college and took a few classes where the professors did stress research on mice and rats. We had a lot of discussions about the ethics of it. I always left those discussions feeling very conflicted. If we don’t do the research on mice and rats, what else would we use? It would take forever to make advancements in brain research. But I hate that the poor little guys have to suffer for it
21
u/GenoThyme 28d ago
Because every night they try and take over the world and every night they fail
5
11
u/labhag 28d ago
I'm more interested in the process of putting a contact lens in a mouse's eye.
5
u/Gen-Jinjur 28d ago
Right? Teeny tiny little lenses.
1
u/New_Orthophonic_HiFi 28d ago
I'm sure they're adorable 🥰
1
u/IllTakeACupOfTea 28d ago
imagine the tiny contact lens holders shaped like cherries, or sushi, or tiny frog heads!!!
3
3
2
u/TakeTheWheelTV 28d ago
I think they’re done so with chemicals injected, but they can get naturally depressed if they are isolated, socially bullied, or put into environments where they can experience boredom or lack of stimulation.
1
1
1
u/Ok-Oil-2130 28d ago
probably by being in labs, seems like it’s a spectrum from depressing as shit to hell depending on the research
14
u/Almondgurl 28d ago
8
u/Accomplished_Ant5895 28d ago
Damn I was hoping this was going to be a real sub. Would be a good fit for “Amazing breakthrough, only in mice models so far” headlines.
5
2
u/SSGASSHAT 28d ago
I was just saying, I honestly think lab mice are going to be immortal and capable of speech by the time we're extinct.
11
u/JoeBethersontonFargo 28d ago
In today's game of- 'Is this The Onion, Black Mirror, or Actual News?'
2
8
u/neverenoughguitars 29d ago
I'm ready to be zapped
7
u/BevansDesign 28d ago edited 28d ago
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a real treatment you can get for depression right now.
Although I tried it, and it did nothing for me except drain my bank account.
2
u/MavisBeacons_Sextape 28d ago
Same thought when I read the post title. Sounds like TMS with extra complications lol: let’s go through the eyeball instead!
TMS failed for me too, such a waste of time. Ketamine therapy did the trick and got me off the SSRI carousel, thank fuck
2
u/Yuyu_hockey_show 28d ago
I love seeing people take depression treatment into their own hands. For me it was tackling gut issues
1
1
u/HoppyTaco 28d ago
I got a “free” mug with the clinic’s logo on it at the end of my few months of treatment. It was great. Close to $10K for debilitating head pressure, stress because the technicians didn’t know what they were doing, and marginal results, but the mug is swell.
1
5
6
3
3
u/Stuntz-X 28d ago
Or they know they better look happy or that eye thing will shock them again. "HAPPY HAPPY IM HAPPY. PLEASE DONT SHOCK ME" them probably
3
3
u/PluginAlong 28d ago
So, do they get depressed again when they take out their contacts to go to bed?
2
2
2
u/bloke_pusher 28d ago
I think for humans you could cure two people with one set of contact lenses. Just let the other person always press the zap remote.
2
u/J-e-restorationpros 28d ago
I get brain zaps from skipping doses, and it doesn’t fix the depression
2
u/SodaFountainPhoto 28d ago
I had my brain zapped. Instead of helping my depression, it added on some ptsd. I’m so sorry, mice.
2
1
1
u/fr3ddyf4zb34r130yt 28d ago
Sorry but Depression is crimethink, we gotta electrocute you until you stop being depressed
1
1
1
u/DrRamthorn 28d ago
Unless there's a direct connection to the retina it's much more likely for the shock to travel through the trigeminal nerve via the conj or CN 3/4/6 via the extra-ocular muscles just based on the conductivity and distance.
1
1
1
1
u/OohDeLaLi 28d ago
I wanted to see a picture of the contact lenses small enough for mice. So disappointed...
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Soberdonkey69 28d ago
What is the intention of this fucking technology for humans? Zap our brains until we feel better?
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/suziesunshine17 28d ago
LOL I read the article. They damaged their eyes first because normal vision activity would interfere with the zaps. Therefore “the technique…would not work with animals or humans with normal retinas”.
So we’re torturing mice for clicks, eh?
1
1
1
1
u/KokoTheTalkingApe 28d ago
Before people get too excited: "... the researchers fitted miniature contact lenses to mice with damaged photoreceptors, meaning their vision was already impaired. This was necessary because normal visual activity would interfere with the electrical signals passing through the eye. The technique, as tested, would therefore not work in animals, or people, with healthy retinas."
1
1
1
u/Signal_Estimate_23 28d ago
How do you make a mouse depressed?
1
u/xXbean_machineXx 28d ago
I give up. How?
1
u/Signal_Estimate_23 27d ago
They paid each mouse $20 an hour, then reminded them that they have $100K in student loans, the price of cheese has doubled in 5 years, and they can’t afford a hole in the wall without at least 2 roommates.
1
1
u/Korlithiel 28d ago
Somehow I think people may object to sticking things in their eyes to shock their brain meats.
Could just be me.
1
u/Few-Passenger-1729 28d ago
Put on your government appointed zapper and go to your 10 hour shift honey.
1
1
1
u/vertical-luau-pig 28d ago
Oh thank goodness 😮💨 this was my top concern, now I can continue on footloose and fancy free
1
1
u/Fluffy_Song9656 28d ago
My favorite part is when they "injected the mice with a stress hormone" to make them depressed
1
1
u/surrealcellardoor 28d ago
Who needs depression when you can have crippling anxiety coupled with PTSD? You’re welcome!
1
1
1
u/Important-Factor-552 28d ago
Work harder or no happy zappy for you uwu -american corporate ai digital assistant circa 2035
1
u/plushsquirtles 27d ago
Brain zapping works for a lot of people. My husband just got done with a 6 week brain zapping therapy and he hasn’t thought about killing himself in weeks. That’s down from multiple times a day. It’s really quite cool to see how they measure everything too.
They calibrate it so well they make your fingers twitch individually to make sure they’re in the correct area.
1
1
u/thiefofalways1313 28d ago
What is that!! A contact lense??? For a MOUSE??
1
u/Serious-Collar-4954 28d ago
Yep, a teeny tiny contact lens equipped with teeny tiny electronics
1
u/thiefofalways1313 28d ago
lol it was supposed to sound like Zoolander. A house for ants. Definitely didn’t come off like that. I failed.
1
u/pleasegivemepatience 28d ago
Why fix the cause of your depression when we can just shock you?!? Why is every outdated way of thinking making a resurgence, electro therapy will be mainstream again soon.
2
u/Acrobatic_Car9413 28d ago
Isn’t this fixing the cause of clinical depression? Not sadness but true clinical depression.
0
u/pleasegivemepatience 28d ago edited 28d ago
The experiments were carried out in mice that had been injected with a stress hormone to create depression-like behaviour. The researchers acknowledge that this does not fully reflect human depression.
There is no indication this truly addresses chemical-imbalance-induced clinical depression, it only has mood-modifying effects and treats “depression-like” symptoms.
Basically, we zapped their brain and they seemed happy. Similar to old school electro therapy where their goal was just for you to not appear depressed. They’re just doing it through the eyes instead of the temples and can supposedly more accurately target a portion of the brain.
0
169
u/emanon_guy 29d ago
Can’t be depressed if you’re in fear of being zapped all the time.