Development of a Next Generation Visual Performance Assessment System for Rodents - 7. PROJECT SUMMARY
Title: Development of a Next Generation Visual Performance Assessment System for Rodents
Visual behavior abnormalities not only link directly to the retinal pathology and visual pathway disorders, but also
associate with many neurodegenerative brain conditions, particularly with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease, and traumatic brain injury. The optomotor reflex (OMR) consists of innate, reflexive head and/or body-
movements during optomotor responses and has been a conventional method for measuring visual functions. It
is emerging as a powerful tool for gene function phenotyping and drug screening in the vision research field,
because it offers noninvasive and clinically-relevant assessments for contrast sensitivity and visual acuity.
As preclinical development and evaluation of treatment strategies for neurodegenerative diseases are highly
dependent on rodent models, especially mouse models, an OMR device for assessing rodent visual performance
is in particular demand. However, existing OMR systems are either subjective (manually-scored OMR) or flawed
as they rely on an arbitrary time window or an unmatched blind animal as a reference to determine vision limits.
Also, the test procedure has not been optimized and is time consuming. The limitations of existing OMR
technology and devices have largely hindered the evaluation of treatment efficacy and gene function behavior
phenotyping in the field of vision science.
In our completed Phase I project (R41 EY025913), we critically addressed the shortcomings of the existing OMR
systems. Our effort has led to a new OMR system which utilizes patent-pending technology. The novelty of our
system lies in the negative OMR indicator that underlies our unique algorithm. ; this algorithm enables
researchers to distinguish between visually-impaired and noncompliant animals. Our optimized testing protocol
uses a staircase reversal procedure, which allows for rapid, unbiased, and fully-automated visual assessment.
The prototype of our system produces efficient and accurate real-time quantification of mouse visual
performance with high sensitivity and reproducibility.
The Specific Aims of this SBIR Phase II project are (1) to develop a “turnkey” OMR system, (2) to validate the
system with multiple retina degenerative mouse models, and authenticate the test protocol as a guide to facilitate
its application, and (3) to refine the system for rod- and cone-specific function discrimination. A platform for
mouse and rat visual behavior assessment will greatly facilitate the drug discovery process aimed at preventing
or slowing vision loss or restoring sight. Thereby, our product will accelerate the development of effective
treatments for devastating blinding conditions including age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. In the
future, the system will be scaled up, and its application will be expanded to evaluate the aging brain and
neurodegenerative disease models, such as Alzheimer’s disease, by measuring behavior responses toward
various visual stimuli.
