A review of behavioral visual acuity tests for rodents

Abstract

Rodents have been used widely in the research of eye diseases to study visual function in animal models. Two methods of visual acuity testing in animals have been internationally recognized: the electrophysiological visual acuity test and the behavioral visual acuity test. Both of these methods have their advantages and limitations. The electrophysiology test(visual evoked potential)is invasive, and animals need recovery time after being implanted with electrodes. Also, the electrophysiological visual acuity test only reflects the electrical activity of a single cell or nuclei, it does not reflect the overall visual function of the animal. The widely used behavioral visual acuity test is able to compensate for these limitations. This paper gives a brief overview of the methods of the behavioral visual acuity test for rodents(rats, mice, guinea pigs, etc.).

Keywords

• rodents
• behavioral visual acuity
• visual water task
• virtual optokinetic system
• virtual optokinetic system