scholarly journals Visual pursuit behavior in mice maintains the pursued prey on the retinal region with least optic flow

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl D Holmgren ◽  
Paul Stahr ◽  
Damian J Wallace ◽  
Kay-Michael Voit ◽  
Emily J Matheson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Temporal Part ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Density Region ◽  
Freely Moving

Mice have a large visual field that is constantly stabilized by vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) driven eye rotations that counter head-rotations. While maintaining their extensive visual coverage is advantageous for predator detection, mice also track and capture prey using vision. However, in the freely moving animal quantifying object location in the field of view is challenging. Here, we developed a method to digitally reconstruct and quantify the visual scene of freely moving mice performing a visually based prey capture task. By isolating the visual sense and combining a mouse eye optic model with the head and eye rotations, the detailed reconstruction of the digital environment and retinal features were projected onto the corneal surface for comparison, and updated throughout the behavior. By quantifying the spatial location of objects in the visual scene and their motion throughout the behavior, we show that the prey image consistently falls within a small area of the VOR-stabilized visual field. This functional focus coincides with the region of minimal optic flow within the visual field and consequently area of minimal motion-induced image-blur, as during pursuit mice ran directly toward the prey. The functional focus lies in the upper-temporal part of the retina and coincides with the reported high density-region of Alpha-ON sustained retinal ganglion cells.

scholarly journals Freely-moving mice visually pursue prey using a retinal area with least optic flow

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl D Holmgren ◽  
Paul Stahr ◽  
Damian J Wallace ◽  
Kay-Michael Voit ◽  
Emily J Matheson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Temporal Part ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Density Region ◽  
Freely Moving

Mice have a large visual field that is constantly stabilized by vestibular ocular reflex driven eye rotations that counter head-rotations. While maintaining their extensive visual coverage is advantageous for predator detection, mice also track and capture prey using vision. However, in the freely moving animal quantifying object location in the field of view is challenging. Here, we developed a method to digitally reconstruct and quantify the visual scene of freely moving mice performing a visually based prey capture task. By isolating the visual sense and combining a mouse eye optic model with the head and eye rotations, the detailed reconstruction of the digital environment and retinal features were projected onto the corneal surface for comparison, and updated throughout the behavior. By quantifying the spatial location of objects in the visual scene and their motion throughout the behavior, we show that the image of the prey is maintained within a small area, the functional focus, in the upper-temporal part of the retina. This functional focus coincides with a region of minimal optic flow in the visual field and consequently minimal motion-induced image blur during pursuit, as well as the reported high density-region of Alpha-ON sustained retinal ganglion cells.

scholarly journals Dynamics of gaze control during prey capture in freely moving mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie M. Michaiel ◽  
Elliott T.T. Abe ◽  
Cristopher M. Niell
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Active Vision ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Specific Point ◽  
Binocular Field ◽  
Freely Moving

ABSTRACTMany studies of visual processing are conducted in unnatural conditions, such as head- and gaze-fixation. As this radically limits natural exploration of the visual environment, there is much less known about how animals actively use their sensory systems to acquire visual information in natural, goal-directed contexts. Recently, prey capture has emerged as an ethologically relevant behavior that mice perform without training, and that engages vision for accurate orienting and pursuit. However, it is unclear how mice target their gaze during such natural behaviors, particularly since, in contrast to many predatory species, mice have a narrow binocular field and lack foveate vision that would entail fixing their gaze on a specific point in the visual field. Here we measured head and bilateral eye movements in freely moving mice performing prey capture. We find that the majority of eye movements are compensatory for head movements, thereby acting to stabilize the visual scene. During head turns, however, these periods of stabilization are interspersed with non-compensatory saccades that abruptly shift gaze position. Analysis of eye movements relative to the cricket position shows that the saccades do not preferentially select a specific point in the visual scene. Rather, orienting movements are driven by the head, with the eyes following in coordination to sequentially stabilize and recenter the gaze. These findings help relate eye movements in the mouse to other species, and provide a foundation for studying active vision during ethological behaviors in the mouse.

scholarly journals Pre-saccadic remapping relies on dynamics of spatial attention

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Szinte ◽  
Donatas Jonikaitis ◽  
Dragan Rangelov ◽  
Heiner Deubel
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Saccadic Remapping

Each saccade shifts the projections of the visual scene on the retina. It has been proposed that the receptive fields of neurons in oculomotor areas are predictively remapped to account for these shifts. While remapping of the whole visual scene seems prohibitively complex, selection by attention may limit these processes to a subset of attended locations. Because attentional selection consumes time, remapping of attended locations should evolve in time, too. In our study, we cued a spatial location by presenting an attention-capturing cue at different times before a saccade and constructed maps of attentional allocation across the visual field. We observed no remapping of attention when the cue appeared shortly before saccade. In contrast, when the cue appeared sufficiently early before saccade, attentional resources were reallocated precisely to the remapped location. Our results show that pre-saccadic remapping takes time to develop suggesting that it relies on the spatial and temporal dynamics of spatial attention.

The retinal ganglion cell distribution and the representation of the visual field in area 17 of the owl monkey, Aotus trivirgatus

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 887-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. L. Silveira ◽  
V. H. Perry ◽  
E. S. Yamada
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Cell Density ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Cell Distribution ◽  
Area 17 ◽  
Displaced Amacrine Cells

AbstractThe distribution of ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells was determined in whole-mounted Aotus retinae. In contrast to diurnal simians, Aotus has only a rudimentary fovea. Ganglion cell density decreases towards the periphery at approximately the same rate along all meridians, but is 1.2–1.8 times higher in the nasal periphery when compared to temporal region at the same eccentricities. The total number of ganglion cells varied from 421,500 to 508,700. Ganglion cell density peaked at 15,000/mm2 at 0.25 mm dorsal to the fovea. The displaced amacrine cells have a shallow density gradient, their peak density in the central region is about 1500–2000/mm2 and their total number varied from 315,900 to 482,800. Comparison between ganglion cell density and areal cortical magnification factor for the primary visual cortex, area 17, shows that there is not a simple proportional representation of the ganglion cell distribution. There is an overrepresentation of the central 10 deg of the visual field in the visual cortex. The present results for Aotus and the results of a similar analysis of data from other primates indicate that the overrepresentation of the central visual field is a general feature of the visual system of primates.

Simulated Optic Flow and Extrastriate Cortex. I. Optic Flow Versus Texture

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 554-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Nam Kim ◽  
Kathleen Mulligan ◽  
Helen Sherk
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
Gray Level ◽  
Visual Guidance ◽  
Forward Motion ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Single Origin

Kim, Jong-Nam, Kathleen Mulligan, and Helen Sherk. Simulated optic flow and extrastriate cortex. I. Optic flow versus texture. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 554–561, 1997. A locomoting observer sees a very different visual scene than an observer at rest: images throughout the visual field accelerate and expand, and they follow approximately radial outward paths from a single origin. This so-called optic flow field is presumably used for visual guidance, and it has been suggested that particular areas of visual cortex are specialized for the analysis of optic flow. In the cat, the lateral suprasylvian visual area (LS) is a likely candidate. To test the hypothesis that LS is specialized for analysis of optic flow fields, we recorded cell responses to optic flow displays. Stimulus movies simulated the experience of a cat trotting slowly across an endless plain covered with small balls. In different simulations we varied the size of balls, their organization (randomly or regularly dispersed), and their color (all one gray level, or multiple shades of gray). For each optic flow movie, a “texture” movie composed of the same elements but lacking optic flow cues was tested. In anesthetized cats, >500 neurons in LS were studied with a variety of movies. Most (70%) of 454 visually responsive cells responded to optic flow movies. Visually responsive cells generally preferred optic flow to texture movies (69% of those responsive to any movie). The direction in which a movie was shown (forward or reverse) was also an important factor. Most cells (68%) strongly preferred forward motion, which corresponded to visual experience during locomotion.

scholarly journals Optic-flow and egocentric-direction strategies in walking: Central vs peripheral visual field

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (25-26) ◽  
pp. 3117-3132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen A. Turano ◽  
Dylan Yu ◽  
Lei Hao ◽  
John C. Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Peripheral Visual Field ◽  
Egocentric Direction

scholarly journals The Relationship between Visual Field Index and Estimated Number of Retinal Ganglion Cells in Glaucoma

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e76590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir H. Marvasti ◽  
Andrew J. Tatham ◽  
Linda M. Zangwill ◽  
Christopher A. Girkin ◽  
Jeffrey M. Liebmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Visual Field Index ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Retinal hemorrhages as one of complications of optic disc drusen during pregnancy

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 185-189
Author(s):  
Marija Trenkic-Bozinovic ◽  
Predrag Jovanovic ◽  
Gordana Zlatanovic ◽  
Dragan Veselinovic ◽  
Aleksandra Aracki-Trenkic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Optic Nerve ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Optic Disc ◽  
Optic Nerve Head ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Visual Field Defects ◽  
Retinal Hemorrhages ◽  
Optic Disc Drusen

Introduction. Drusen of the optic nerve head are relatively benign and asymptomatic. They represent retinal hyaline corpuscles resulting from impaired axoplasmic transport of the retinal ganglion cells of optic nerve in front of the lamina cribrosa. They are usually detected accidentally, during a routine ophthalmologic examination. Most patients with optic disc drusen are not aware of the deterioration of their eyesight because of the slow progression of visual field defects. Damage in visual acuity due to optic disc drusen is rare. Case Report. A 27-year-old female patient in the sixth month of pregnancy visited an ophthalmologist because of a visual impairment described as the appearance of mist and shadows over her right eye. When first examined, her visual acuity in both eyes was 20/20. The retinal hemorrhages framing the bottom half of the optic nerve were seen. Complete laboratory and clinical testing as well as specific ophthalmic examinations (photofundus, computerized visual field, optical coherence tomography, and ultrasound) were performed to exclude systemic causes and they presented no risk for the pregnancy. Echosonographic examination confirmed the presence of bilateral optic nerve head drusen. Conclusion. Hemodynamic changes during pregnancy are possible factors for the development of optical disc and retinal hemorrhages. Since treatment of optic disc drusen is limited, recognition of optic nerve drusen as a cause of hemorrhage during pregnancy prevents unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

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