This Is What A Fish's Thoughts Look Like

A new video (presented here in gif form) shows what it looks like when a zebrafish (a small fish normally used in the lab) thinks about food. The video is the result of a very sensitive fluorescent dye that shines when an electric charge moves through the fish's brain cells.

The researchers showed the fish a dot (meant to look like their favorite food, the paramecium a tiny, once celled animal) that flitted by its eye for the first three seconds of the video. The brain reacts immediately.

The researchers say this is the first time they've caught a thought on video. The paper detailing the new method was published Thursday, Jan. 13 in the journal Current Biology.