Zombie mice?

There is an odd interpretation of a study involving the activation, using lasers, of 'chase and grab' areas of the brain in genetically-modified laboratory mice (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/12/scientists-use-light-to-trigger-walking-dead-killer-instinct-in-mice-optogenetics). The claim is that the 2 circuits (the chase and the grab) could be operated, to some extent, separately and that the mice behaved in a zombified fashion when activated by the laser. There was also some speculation about the relationship of this certainly predatory behaviour to 'aggression'. The first thing to note, is that it is well-established that the laboratory mouse is derived from an omnivorous ancestor (wild House mice have stomach contents that are often 40% insect and spider remains and laboratory strains will routinely kill and consume locusts introduced to their cages). The second thing to note is that predation and other forms of murine attack seem to be completely unrelated. I personally think that describing the triggering of predation by activating of neural circuits as "assuming the qualities of zombies" is poetic licence.