Using eye movements to assess brain function in mice

Stahl, John S.

doi:10.1016/j.visres.2004.09.011

Cited by 103 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…The flocculus (from OVX females that received a daily subcutaneous injection for 14 d; Eovx, n ϭ 8; Covx, n ϭ 8) was processed for electronic microscopy (CM 100; Philips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands) and labeled (Collewijn and Grootendorst, 1979;Iwashita et al, 2001;Van Alphen and De Zeeuw, 2002;Boyden et al, 2004;Faulstich et al, 2004;Stahl, 2004). Primary afferents from the vestibular system [Scarpa's ganglion (Sg)] converge on second-order vestibular nuclei neurons (VN) that innervate the oculomotor nucleus (OMN) to control eye movements.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estradiol Improves Cerebellar Memory Formation by Activating Estrogen Receptor β

Andreescu¹,

Milojkovic²,

Haasdijk³

et al. 2007

J. Neurosci.

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Learning motor skills is critical for motor abilities such as driving a car or playing piano. The speed at which we learn those skills is subject to many factors. Yet, it is not known to what extent gonadal hormones can affect the achievement of accurate movements in time and space. Here we demonstrate via different lines of evidence that estradiol promotes plasticity in the cerebellar cortex underlying motor learning. First, we show that estradiol enhances induction of long-term potentiation at the parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapse, whereas it does not affect long-term depression; second, we show that estradiol activation of estrogen receptor ␤ receptors in Purkinje cells significantly improves gain-decrease adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, whereas it does not affect general eye movement performance; and third, we show that estradiol increases the density of parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses, whereas it does not affect the density of climbing fiber synapses. We conclude that estradiol can improve motor skills by potentiating cerebellar plasticity and synapse formation. These processes may be advantageous during periods of high estradiol levels of the estrous cycle or pregnancy.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estradiol Improves Cerebellar Memory Formation by Activating Estrogen Receptor β

Andreescu¹,

Milojkovic²,

Haasdijk³

et al. 2007

J. Neurosci.

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“…The use of the laboratory mouse in ocular motor research is growing rapidly, due to widespread interest in applying the tools of molecular genetics to the study of ocular motor circuits, and to the recent adaptation of accurate eye movement recording techniques for use in these tiny animals (Stahl, 2004b;Stahl, 2008). To date, most studies of murine ocular motility have focused on the eye movements induced by dynamic stimulation of the semicircular canals (the angular vestibulo-ocular reflex, aVOR), retina (the optokinetic reflex, OKR), or macular (otolith) organs (Andreescu, et al, 2005;Killian and Baker, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eye orientation during static tilts and its relationship to spontaneous head pitch in the laboratory mouse

Oommen

Stahl

2008

Brain Research

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Both eye position and head orientation are influenced by the macular (otolith) organs, via the tilt maculo-ocular reflex (tiltMOR) and the vestibulo-collic reflexes, respectively. The mechanisms that control head position also influence the rest position of the eye, because head orientation influences eye position through the tiltMOR. Despite the increasing popularity of mice for studies of vestibular and ocular motor functions, relatively little is known in this species about tiltMOR, spontaneous orientation of the head, and their interrelationship. We used 2D video oculography to determine in C57BL/6 mice the absolute horizontal and vertical positions of the eyes over body orientations spanning 360° about the pitch and roll axes. We also determined head pitch during ambulation in the same animals. Eye elevation varied approximately sinusoidally as functions of pitch or roll angle. Over the central ±30° of pitch, sensitivity and gain in the light were 31.7°/g and 0.53, respectively. The corresponding values for roll were 31.5°/g and 0.52. Absolute positions adopted in light and darkness differed only slightly. During ambulation, mice carried the lambda-bregma plane at a downward pitch of 29°, corresponding to a horizontal eye position of 64° and a vertical eye position of 22°. The vertical position is near the center of the range of eye movements produced by the pitch tiltMOR. The results indicate the tiltMOR is robust in this species, and favor standardizing pitch orientation across laboratories. The robust tiltMOR also has significant methodological implications for the practice of pupil-tracking video oculography in this species.

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“…When designing an eye movement experiment, the following factors need to be taken into account or controlled for because they are known to affect the eye movement response: age 13,18 , gender 14 and strain 15,16,19 . Furthermore, the experimental animal should have pigmented irises since pupil detection and tracking is impossible when the contrast between pupil and iris is too low, like in the BALB/c mouse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Video-oculography in Mice

Jeu

Zeeuw

2012

JoVE

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Eye movements are very important in order to track an object or to stabilize an image on the retina during movement. Animals without a fovea, such as the mouse, have a limited capacity to lock their eyes onto a target. In contrast to these target directed eye movements, compensatory ocular eye movements are easily elicited in afoveate animals 1,2,3,4 . Compensatory ocular movements are generated by processing vestibular and optokinetic information into a command signal that will drive the eye muscles. The processing of the vestibular and optokinetic information can be investigated separately and together, allowing the specification of a deficit in the oculomotor system. The oculomotor system can be tested by evoking an optokinetic reflex (OKR), vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) or a visually-enhanced vestibulo-ocular reflex (VVOR). The OKR is a reflex movement that compensates for "full-field" image movements on the retina, whereas the VOR is a reflex eye movement that compensates head movements. The VVOR is a reflex eye movement that uses both vestibular as well as optokinetic information to make the appropriate compensation. The cerebellum monitors and is able to adjust these compensatory eye movements. Therefore, oculography is a very powerful tool to investigate brain-behavior relationship under normal as well as under pathological conditions (f.e. of vestibular, ocular and/or cerebellar origin).Testing the oculomotor system, as a behavioral paradigm, is interesting for several reasons. First, the oculomotor system is a well understood neural system 5 . Second, the oculomotor system is relative simple 6 ; the amount of possible eye movement is limited by its ball-in-socket architecture ("single joint") and the three pairs of extra-ocular muscles 7 . Third, the behavioral output and sensory input can easily be measured, which makes this a highly accessible system for quantitative analysis 8 . Many behavioral tests lack this high level of quantitative power. And finally, both performance as well as plasticity of the oculomotor system can be tested, allowing research on learning and memory processes 9 .Genetically modified mice are nowadays widely available and they form an important source for the exploration of brain functions at various levels 10 . In addition, they can be used as models to mimic human diseases. Applying oculography on normal, pharmacologically-treated or genetically modified mice is a powerful research tool to explore the underlying physiology of motor behaviors under normal and pathological conditions. Here, we describe how to measure video-oculography in mice 8 .

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Using eye movements to assess brain function in mice

Cited by 103 publications

References 68 publications

Estradiol Improves Cerebellar Memory Formation by Activating Estrogen Receptor β

Estradiol Improves Cerebellar Memory Formation by Activating Estrogen Receptor β

Eye orientation during static tilts and its relationship to spontaneous head pitch in the laboratory mouse

Video-oculography in Mice

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