Conserved visual capacity of rats under red light

eLife

Mathew E Diamond¹  Nader Nikbakht² 

[1] Tactile Perception and Learning Lab, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy;Tactile Perception and Learning Lab, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy;Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States;

关键词: vision;    red light;    behavior;    rats;    mice;    form perception;    Rat;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.66429

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

Recent studies examine the behavioral capacities of rats and mice with and without visual input, and the neuronal mechanisms underlying such capacities. These animals are assumed to be functionally blind under red light, an assumption that might originate in the fact that they are dichromats who possess ultraviolet and green cones, but not red cones. But the inability to see red as a color does not necessarily rule out form vision based on red light absorption. We measured Long-Evans rats’ capacity for visual form discrimination under red light of various wavelength bands. Upon viewing a black and white grating, they had to distinguish between two categories of orientation: horizontal and vertical. Psychometric curves plotting judged orientation versus angle demonstrate the conserved visual capacity of rats under red light. Investigations aiming to explore rodent physiological and behavioral functions in the absence of visual input should not assume red-light blindness.

【 授权许可】

CC BY