 Virtual reality is undoubtedly one of the coolest things to exist. The thought of wandering around in Wonderland when you want is great, but have you ever thought of how this would affect your brain? Virtual reality may be becoming a big thing in gaming, however some of you may be shocked to know that it's also making some waves in the world of neurology, especially when it comes to understanding the brain. In 2014, researchers at UCLA conducted a study to learn about the brain's reaction into virtual reality. The study involved the researchers placing rats on treadmills surrounded by screens projecting a virtual world in a dark, quiet room and observing the rat's brain activity. While observing the brain activity of the rats, the scientists noticed something strange in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is an important part of the brain which plays a role in forming new memories and creating spatial maps of an environment. When a person explores an environment, the neurons in the hippocampus become active, creating a cognitive map of the environment. The hippocampus can also estimate distances between the person and surrounding landmarks through other cues like smells and sounds. When the rats were placed in the virtual world, the researchers wanted to see how the hippocampus would behave without being able to use cues such as smells and sounds. When the scientists looked at the results, they found the hippocampus's reactions to the real world and virtual world were different. Wait, what? In the virtual world, the neurons seemed to fire in completely random sequences. This implied the hippocampus had no idea where the rat was, despite the fact the rat's behavior seemed normal. Even more surprising was the fact that even though the neurons of a rat's hippocampus were highly active in the real world, more than 50% of the neurons were shut down in the virtual environment. However, the team didn't just study individual neurons. They also studied large groups of hippocampal neurons, which as shown by previous studies create complex rhythms which are crucial for learning and memory. Neurons in the hippocampus communicate with each other using two different languages based on rhythm and intensity. The researchers noted that in the virtual environment, the language based on rhythm is similar to that in the real world, however the language based on intensity is completely disrupted. However, virtual reality doesn't just allow us to understand the hippocampus more. We can also use it for cognitive rehabilitation for those who suffer from brain injury. VR can be used as a means of cognitive evaluation by evaluating users' performance in various stimulated environments. Furthermore, in five studies of VR based cognitive therapy, improvements in memory and attention were noted. It's nice to see how VR is being a game changer outside the world of gaming. Hopefully, VR will help make more breakthroughs in the field of science since its applications are virtually no pun intended, unlimited. And before concluding today's lesson, I ask you, how do you think VR should be used in science? If you enjoyed this video, leave a like and share it so others can learn too. And don't forget to subscribe for more science videos.