Contrast sensitivity, spatial and temporal tuning of the larval zebrafish optokinetic response.

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, and Brain Research Institute of the University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Published: January 2005

Purpose: To characterize the quantitative properties of the optokinetic response (OKR) in zebrafish larvae as a tool to test visual performance in genetically modified larvae.

Methods: Horizontal OKR was triggered in 5-day-old zebrafish larvae by stimulation with projected computer-generated gratings of varying contrast, angular velocity, temporal and spatial frequency, and brightness. Eye movements were analyzed by a custom-made eye tracker based on image analysis.

Results: The gain of the OKR slow phase was dependent on angular velocity, spatial frequency, and contrast of a moving grating, but largely independent on brightness. Eye velocity was a logarithmically linear function of grating contrast with a slope of approximately 0.8 per log unit contrast.

Conclusions: The OKR of the larval zebrafish is not scaled for stimulus contrast and spatial frequency. These properties make the OKR a valuable tool to quantify behavioral visual performance such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and light adaptation. This behavioral paradigm will be useful for analyzing visual performance in mutant and gene-knockdown larval zebrafish.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.04-0682DOI Listing

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