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Scotopic and Photopic Visual Thresholds and Spatial and Temporal Discrimination Evaluated by Behavior of Mice in a Water Maze †
Author(s) -
Nathan Janaki,
Reh Rebecca,
Ankoudinova Irina,
Ankoudinova Genie,
Chang Bo,
Heckenlively John,
Hurley James B.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
photochemistry and photobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1751-1097
pISSN - 0031-8655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2006.tb09804.x
Subject(s) - photopic vision , scotopic vision , neuroscience , retina , water maze , perception , biology , visual perception , color discrimination , color vision , physics , communication , psychology , optics , hippocampal formation
Methods that allow specific manipulations of the mouse genome have made it possible to alter specific aspects of photoreceptor function within the mouse retina. Mice with photoreceptors that have altered photosensitivities and altered photoresponse kinetics are now available. Methods are needed that can show how those perturbations in photoreceptor response characteristics translate into perturbations in visual sensitivity and perception. We have adapted a previously described method to evaluate visual threshold, spatial discrimination and temporal discrimination in mice swimming in a water maze. In this report we describe the sensitivities of rod‐mediated and cone‐mediated vision using GNAT1–/–and GNAT2–/– mice. Cone‐mediated vision is ˜10000 times less sensitive than rod‐mediated vision in mice. We also demonstrate that mice can distinguish striped from solid objects in the water maze and that they can distinguish flickering from continuous illumination.