Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; PB 65 (Viikinkaari 1), 00014, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Rua do Matão, Trav. 14, N°101, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Oct;106:72-85. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.05.011. Epub 2020 May 25.
From the mid-19th century until the 1980's, frogs and toads provided important research models for many fundamental questions in visual neuroscience. In the present century, they have been largely neglected. Yet they are animals with highly developed vision, a complex retina built on the basic vertebrate plan, an accessible brain, and an experimentally useful behavioural repertoire. They also offer a rich diversity of species and life histories on a reasonably restricted physiological and evolutionary background. We suggest that important insights may be gained from revisiting classical questions in anurans with state-of-the-art methods. At the input to the system, this especially concerns the molecular evolution of visual pigments and photoreceptors, at the output, the relation between retinal signals, brain processing and behavioural decision-making.
从 19 世纪中叶到 20 世纪 80 年代，青蛙和蟾蜍为视觉神经科学的许多基本问题提供了重要的研究模型。在本世纪，它们在很大程度上被忽视了。然而，它们是具有高度发达视觉的动物，其复杂的视网膜建立在基本的脊椎动物模式上，具有易于接近的大脑和实用的行为能力。它们还提供了丰富多样的物种和生活史，其生理和进化背景相当有限。我们认为，通过使用最先进的方法重新研究两栖动物的经典问题，可能会获得重要的见解。在系统的输入端，这尤其涉及视觉色素和光感受器的分子进化，在输出端，涉及视网膜信号、大脑处理和行为决策之间的关系。
