Gaze stabilization reflexes in the mouse: New tools to study vision and sensorimotor

abstract

Gaze stabilization reflexes are a popular model system in neuroscience for connecting neurophysiology and behavior as well as studying the neural correlates of behavioral plasticity. These compensatory eye movements are one of the simplest motor behaviors, consisting of a more or less spherical object that rotates with three degrees of freedom, without significantly changing the load during a movement trajectory. Additionally, it is a model system where the sensory input, consisting of visual and/or vestibular stimulation, can be fully controlled. The output, reflexive compensatory eye movements and electrophysiological activity, can be recorded and correlated with the sensory input. By manipulating those reflexive eye movements by using different combinations of sensory input, motor learning can be studied in a well‐controlled environment. In this thesis, we describe several innovative approaches that can be added to the neuroscientific arsenal. We are the first lab to describe how to record three dimensional eye movements in mice using video‐oculography. Additionally, we describe how compensatory eye movements can be used to quantify contrast sensitivity; the ability to detect small increments in shades of gray on a uniform background, which is one of the main limiting factors in a wide variety of visual tasks. This new and sensitive method is useful in characterizing mouse models where vision is affected as a result of mutations, aging, retinal degeneration or neurological impairment of the visual system.