Researchers at Cornell University have created the MouseGoggles in order to study how animals behave in virtual reality.

The goggles have been built using low-cost components including smartwatch displays and tiny lenses.

Researchers put the headsets on the mice, to see how they responded to different stimuli in order to study how the brain deals with spatial navigation and memory.

This could help scientists to understand diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Matthew Isaacson, one of the study's lead authors said: "When we tried this kind of a test in the typical VR setup with big screens, the mice did not react at all.

"But almost every single mouse, the first time they see it with the goggles, they jump. They have a huge startle reaction. They really did seem to think they were getting attacked by a looming predator."