Viczian Andrea S, Zuber Michael E
Ophthalmology Department, Center for Vision Research, SUNY Eye Institute, Upstate Medical University;
Ophthalmology Department, Center for Vision Research, SUNY Eye Institute, Upstate Medical University.
J Vis Exp. 2014 Jun 12(88):51726. doi: 10.3791/51726.
Measurement of the visual function in the tadpoles of the frog, Xenopus laevis, allows screening for blindness in live animals. The optokinetic response is a vision-based, reflexive behavior that has been observed in all vertebrates tested. Tadpole eyes are small so the tail flip response was used as alternative measure, which requires a trained technician to record the subtle response. We developed an alternative behavior assay based on the fact that tadpoles prefer to swim on the white side of a tank when placed in a tank with both black and white sides. The assay presented here is an inexpensive, simple alternative that creates a response that is easily measured. The setup consists of a tripod, webcam and nested testing tanks, readily available in most Xenopus laboratories. This article includes a movie showing the behavior of tadpoles, before and after severing the optic nerve. In order to test the function of one eye, we also include representative results of a tadpole in which each eye underwent retinal axotomy on consecutive days. Future studies could develop an automated version of this assay for testing the vision of many tadpoles at once.
对非洲爪蟾蝌蚪视觉功能的测量有助于筛查活体动物的失明情况。视动反应是一种基于视觉的反射行为，在所有接受测试的脊椎动物中都有观察到。蝌蚪的眼睛很小，因此将尾部翻转反应用作替代测量方法，这需要训练有素的技术人员来记录这种细微的反应。我们基于这样一个事实开发了一种替代行为测定法：当将蝌蚪放置在具有黑白两侧的水箱中时，它们更喜欢在白色一侧游泳。此处介绍的测定法是一种廉价、简单的替代方法，可产生易于测量的反应。该装置由一个三脚架、网络摄像头和嵌套式测试水箱组成，在大多数非洲爪蟾实验室中都很容易获得。本文包含一段展示蝌蚪在切断视神经前后行为的视频。为了测试一只眼睛的功能，我们还包括了一只蝌蚪的代表性结果，该蝌蚪的每只眼睛在连续几天内都进行了视网膜轴突切断术。未来的研究可以开发这种测定法的自动化版本，以便一次测试许多蝌蚪的视力。
