A quantitative detection method and system for mouse vision

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of animal vision testing technology, and particularly to a quantitative detection method and system for mouse vision. The invention guides the mouse from an initial position to locate an underwater platform below a first display screen, while gradually increasing the spatial frequency of the grating on the first display screen. The method records whether the mouse's choice is correct after each increase in the spatial frequency of the grating, thereby fitting a curve of the grating's spatial frequency versus the test accuracy. This invention guides the mouse by setting a grating, records the correctness of the mouse's actions, and then fits a curve of the grating's spatial frequency versus the test accuracy. A threshold is then selected to calibrate and compare the vision of different mice. This method is non-invasive and can be used for long-term monitoring of visual system development.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of animal vision testing technology, and in particular to a method and system for quantitative detection of mouse vision. Background Technology

[0002] Research on the neural basis of vision in mammals has focused primarily on primate models; although many cellular mechanisms regulating the development of visual function and the causes of visual system diseases have been elucidated using these models, little progress has been made in understanding the genetic basis of vision.

[0003] Currently, in the study of the molecular basis of brain function, many mouse mutant lines have been established due to the development of transgenic and gene knockout technologies. This makes the use of rodents such as mice as experimental animals more advantageous than other mammalian experimental animals.

[0004] Many experiments on brain developmental plasticity use the visual system as an experimental model, but few experiments apply transgenic and gene marker technologies to mouse visual plasticity models. This may be due to difficulties in measuring visual abilities in mice. Typically, we can estimate the visual abilities of rodents by sampling the retina through electrophysiology, visual evoked potentials, or anatomical methods. However, the accuracy of these methods is questionable, and because they can be damaging to mice, they are not suitable for long-term measurements of visual development or changes in vision after experimental manipulation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main technical problem solved by this invention is to provide a quantitative detection method for mouse vision, which guides the mouse by setting up a grating and records the correctness of the mouse's movements, thereby calibrating and comparing the vision of different mice; it also provides a quantitative detection system for mouse vision.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, one technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a method for quantitative detection of mouse vision, comprising the following steps:

[0007] Step S1: A first display screen and a second display screen are installed on the wide end face of the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device. The first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, and the second display screen displays a uniform grayscale image with the same average brightness as the first display screen.

[0008] Step S2: Place the vertical baffle between the first display screen and the second display screen;

[0009] Step S3: The endpoint of the narrow end face inside the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device is set as the initial site. The mouse starts from the initial site and goes to find the underwater platform located below the first display screen and below the water surface.

[0010] Step S4: After the mouse starts, the spatial frequency of the grating on the first display screen is gradually increased. The mouse's choice is recorded after each increase in the spatial frequency of the grating on the first display screen. The curve of the spatial frequency of the grating versus the test accuracy is then fitted.

[0011] Step S5: Select a threshold and calibrate and compare the vision of different mice.

[0012] As an improvement of the present invention, in step S4, the position distribution of the gratings of the first display screen follows a pseudo-random pattern.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, in step S4, the mouse is tested at least 10 times to fit the curve of the spatial frequency of the grating versus the test accuracy.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, in step S4, the spatial frequency of the grating observed at the location where the mouse actually makes a choice is recorded, thereby verifying and correcting the curve of the spatial frequency of the fitted grating versus the test accuracy.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, in step S1, an upper camera for recording is provided on the top of the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, in step S1, a left camera and a right camera for recording are respectively provided on both sides of the wide end face inside the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device.

[0017] A quantitative detection device for mouse vision includes a trapezoidal water tank, a vertical baffle, and a first display screen and a second display screen disposed on the wide end face of the trapezoidal water tank. The first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, and the second display screen displays a uniform grayscale image with the same average brightness as the first display screen. The vertical baffle is disposed between the first display screen and the second display screen, and an underwater platform is installed below the first display screen.

[0018] As an improvement of the present invention, an upper camera for recording is provided on the top of the trapezoidal water tank.

[0019] As a further improvement of the present invention, a left camera and a right camera for recording are respectively provided on both sides of the wide end face inside the trapezoidal water tank.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Compared with the prior art, this invention guides mice by setting up gratings, records the correctness of the mice's actions, and thus fits the curve of the spatial frequency of the gratings and the test accuracy. Then, a threshold is selected to calibrate and compare the vision of different mice. This method does not cause damage to the mice and can be used for long-term detection of visual system development. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the trapezoidal water tank of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0024] Mice have an instinctive aversion to aquatic environments. Driven by this aversion, mice want to escape from the water as quickly as possible. They associate the location of underwater platforms with the presence of visual cues (such as gratings). After a training phase, mice can learn to find underwater platforms by using visual cues as clues.

[0025] When the characteristics of visual cues (such as the spatial frequency of the grating) are changed, the sensitivity of experimental mice with different vision to the changed visual cues varies. Mice can still recognize the visual cues after the changes, but the accuracy of recognition will decrease. However, mice with different vision will have different degrees of change in recognition accuracy under the same changes in visual cues. Generally speaking, mice with poor vision are more affected by changes in visual cues.

[0026] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention provides a method for quantitative detection of mouse vision, comprising the following steps:

[0027] Step S1: A first display screen and a second display screen are installed on the wide end face of the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device. The first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, and the second display screen displays a uniform grayscale image with the same average brightness as the first display screen.

[0028] Step S2: Place the vertical baffle between the first display screen and the second display screen;

[0029] Step S3: The endpoint of the narrow end face inside the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device is set as the initial site. The mouse starts from the initial site and goes to find the underwater platform located below the water surface below the first display screen.

[0030] Step S4: After the mouse starts, the spatial frequency of the grating on the first display screen is gradually increased. The mouse's choice is recorded after each increase in the spatial frequency of the grating on the first display screen. The curve of the spatial frequency of the grating versus the test accuracy is then fitted.

[0031] Step S5: Select a threshold and calibrate and compare the vision of different mice.

[0032] This invention guides mice by setting up a grating, records the correctness of the mice's movements, and then fits a curve of the spatial frequency of the grating versus the test accuracy. A threshold is then selected to calibrate and compare the vision of different mice. This method is non-invasive and can be used for long-term monitoring of visual system development.

[0033] In step S4, the position distribution of the gratings on the first display screen follows a pseudo-random pattern.

[0034] The mice were tested at least 10 times to fit the curve of spatial frequency of the grating versus test accuracy. The spatial frequency of the grating observed at the location where the mouse actually made the choice was recorded to verify and correct the fitted curve of spatial frequency of the grating versus test accuracy.

[0035] In step S1, an upper camera for recording is installed on the top of the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device; a left camera and a right camera for recording are respectively installed on both sides of the wide end face inside the trapezoidal water tank of the quantitative detection device.

[0036] The present invention provides a quantitative detection device for mouse vision, including a trapezoidal water tank, a vertical baffle, and a first display screen and a second display screen disposed on the wide end face of the trapezoidal water tank. The first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, and the second display screen displays a uniform grayscale image with the same average brightness as the first display screen. The vertical baffle is disposed between the first display screen and the second display screen, and an underwater platform is installed below the first display screen.

[0037] The trapezoidal water tank has an upper camera for recording at the top, and a left camera and a right camera for recording on both sides of the wide end face inside the trapezoidal water tank.

[0038] Specifically, the trapezoidal water tank is composed of opaque acrylic panels. Two displays are placed side-by-side at the wider end of the tank. The first display randomly shows a fixed, vertically oriented sinusoidal grating, while the second display shows a uniform grayscale image with the same average brightness. Below the first display screen is an underwater platform slightly below the water surface. A vertical, removable baffle in the middle of the wider end divides the tank into two arms, separating the two displays on either side. The length of the vertical baffle can be adjusted according to experimental needs. Additionally, a camera is located above the trapezoidal water tank to record the mouse's swimming trajectory, and two cameras are located on each of the two arms at the wider end of the tank to assist in recording the mouse's specific movement details.

[0039] The initial position of the mouse was defined at the narrow end of the vertical baffle near the trapezoidal water tank. The spatial frequency of the grating measured at this point was defined as the standard spatial frequency. The grating frequency was set to a relatively low initial spatial frequency. The mouse was trained to swim from the initial position at the narrow end to the wide end, searching for the underwater platform located below the grating screen. By gradually increasing the spatial frequency of the grating, the accuracy rate of the mouse in ten visual water maze tests was recorded after each increase in grating frequency. A curve of spatial frequency versus test accuracy was fitted. The position distribution of the grating screen in each test was pseudo-random to prevent the influence of spatial memory rather than visual information on the mouse test. In addition, the spatial frequency of the grating observed at the position where the mouse actually made the choice was calculated by video recording. The curve was then tested and corrected. Finally, the visual acuity of different mice was calibrated and compared by manually selecting a threshold.

[0040] This invention can analyze the movement trajectory of mice through multi-angle video recording, select a suitable position to determine the spatial frequency perceived by the mouse in real time, and thus correct the obtained "spatial frequency-accuracy" curve.

[0041] The vertical baffle of this invention is designed with an adjustable length. In experiments, if the baffle is too long, the mouse is too far from the screen, and its perception of visual cues will decrease, thus easily leading to "false negatives". If the baffle is too short, the mouse is too close to the display screen on both arms, and the screen patterns are prone to mutual interference, thus affecting the mouse's choice. Therefore, the appropriate baffle length for a certain mouse strain can be determined by trial and error during the mouse behavior training stage to reduce experimental errors.

[0042] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0043] 1) Used for quantitative measurement of mouse vision, without causing damage to mice, and can be used for long-term monitoring of visual system development;

[0044] 2) Partially detachable, allowing for modification according to individual experimental needs;

[0045] 3) Equipped with a camera to record the movement trajectory of the mouse, it can analyze the spatial frequency felt by the mouse during movement, thereby improving the accuracy of the experiment;

[0046] 4) The electronic display screen can not only output gratings for testing the vision of mice, but also change the physical properties of the pattern, such as spatial frequency, color, and shape, as needed, to measure other color vision and other visual characteristics.

[0047] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mouse vision quantitative detection device, characterized in that, The trapezoidal water tank, the vertical baffle, the first display screen and the second display screen arranged on the wide end surface of the trapezoidal water tank, the first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, the second display screen displays a uniform gray image with the same average brightness as the first display screen, the vertical baffle is arranged between the first display screen and the second display screen, and the underwater platform is arranged below the first display screen. The quantitative detection device performs the following steps: Step S1, arranging the first display screen and the second display screen on the wide end surface of the trapezoidal water tank in the quantitative detection device, the first display screen displays a sinusoidal grating, and the second display screen displays a uniform gray image with the same average brightness as the first display screen; Step S2, arranging a vertical baffle between the first display screen and the second display screen; Step S3, setting the end point position of the narrow end surface of the trapezoidal water tank in the quantitative detection device as an initial site, and the mouse starts from the initial site to find an underwater platform below the first display screen and under the water surface; Step S4, after the mouse starts, the spatial frequency of the grating of the first display screen is gradually increased, and the mouse's selection is recorded after the spatial frequency of the grating of the first display screen is increased each time, whether the mouse's selection is correct, so as to fit the curve of the spatial frequency of the grating and the test accuracy; Step S5, selecting a threshold to calibrate and compare the vision of different mice; In step S4, the spatial frequency of the grating observed by the mouse when making a selection is recorded, so as to test and correct the fitted curve of the spatial frequency of the grating and the test accuracy; In the quantitative detection process, the spatial frequency of the grating is changed as the characteristic of the visual prompt, and the sensitivity of the mouse with different vision to the changed visual prompt is different, the mouse can still identify after the change of the visual prompt, but the accuracy of the identification will decrease; the degree of change of the correct identification of the mouse with different vision under the same change of the visual prompt is also different; the mouse with poor vision is more affected by the change of the visual prompt.

2. The mouse visual acuity quantitative testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the position distribution of the grating of the first display screen obeys pseudo-random.

3. The mouse visual acuity quantification device of claim 2, wherein, In step S4, the mouse is tested at least 10 times, so as to fit the curve of the spatial frequency of the grating and the test accuracy.

4. The mouse visual acuity quantification device of claim 1, wherein, The top of the trapezoidal water tank is provided with an upper camera for recording.

5. The mouse visual acuity quantification device of claim 4, wherein, The left camera and the right camera are arranged on both sides of the wide end surface in the trapezoidal water tank for recording.

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