Development of velocity perception in pattern deprived cats
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1
Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Poland
Motion perception is determined by the quality of early visual experience. Cortical direction selectivity and global motion perception are indeed impaired by early binocular deprivation in ferrets, cats and humans. Children with later onset of binocular cataract have normal global motion perception, while patients with congenital cataract show a deficit (Lewis & Maurer, 2005). Previously we showed in cats that long-lasting (6 months) binocular pattern deprivation leads to a severe impairment in global motion detection. Three groups of cats were tested: 1. a congenital group with early binocular deprivation starting form eyelid opening and lasting for 2 months (2 BD), 2. a developmental group visually-deprived in months 3 to 4 and 3. a control group raised in a normal visual environment. Animals were trained in a two-choice discrimination apparatus with food reward. During training sessions, the animals, enclosed in the box, thrust their head into a Plexiglas chamber thereby viewing the stimuli through the nose keys from a constant distance (21.5 cm). Each daily session consisted of 120 trials. Staircase and constant stimuli procedures were applied. Visual discrimination tasks using random dot patterns differing in velocity (2- 100 deg/s) and, or direction were used. In 2N2BD group we found significant impairment as compared to 2BD group in velocity discrimination tasks. Surprisingly, limiting visual experience in the first months to moving shadows facilitated global motion perception, as the 2BD animals learned global motion discrimination tasks based on velocity discrimination faster than the control group. Supported by MNiSW grant N40132/1002 to Kalina Burnat.
Conference:
41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting, Rhodes Island, Greece, 13 Sep - 18 Sep, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster presentations
Citation:
Monika
Z,
Kossut
M and
Burnat
K
(2009). Development of velocity perception in pattern deprived cats.
Conference Abstract:
41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.08.2009.09.358
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Received:
15 Jun 2009;
Published Online:
15 Jun 2009.
*
Correspondence:
Zapasnik Monika, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Granz, Poland, m.zapasnik@nencki.gov.pl