Using a variant of the optomotor response as a visual defect detection assay in zebrafish

Matthew K LeFauve; Cassie J Rowe; Mikayla Crowley-Perry; Jenna L Wiegand; Arthur G Shapiro; Victoria P Connaughton

doi:10.14440/jbm.2021.341

Using a variant of the optomotor response as a visual defect detection assay in zebrafish

J Biol Methods. 2021 Feb 1;8(1):e144. doi: 10.14440/jbm.2021.341. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Matthew K LeFauve^{1

2}, Cassie J Rowe^{2

3}, Mikayla Crowley-Perry^{2

4}, Jenna L Wiegand², Arthur G Shapiro^{3

5

6}, Victoria P Connaughton^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, 800 22 St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
² Department of Biology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.
³ Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.
⁶ Department of Computer Science, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.

Abstract

We describe a visual stimulus that can be used with both larval and adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). This protocol is a modification of a standard visual behavior analysis, the optomotor response (OMR). The OMR is often used to determine the spatial response or to detect directional visuomotor deficiencies. An OMR can be generated using a high contrast grated pattern, typically vertical bars. The spatial sensitivity is measured by detection and response to a change in grating bar width and is reported in cycles per degree (CPD). This test has been used extensively with zebrafish larvae and adults to identify visual- and/or motor-based mutations. Historically, when tested in adults, the grated pattern was presented from a vertical perspective, using a rotating cylinder around a holding tank, allowing the grating to be seen solely from the sides and front of the organism. In contrast, OMRs in zebrafish larvae are elicited using a stimulus projected below the fish. This difference in methodology means that two different experimental set-ups are required: one for adults and one for larvae. Our visual stimulus modifies the stimulation format so that a single OMR stimulus, suitable for use with both adults and larvae, is being presented underneath the fish. Analysis of visuomotor responses using this method does not require costly behavioral tracking software and, using a single behavioral paradigm, allows the observer to rapidly determine visual spatial response in both zebrafish larvae and adults.

Keywords: behavioral neuroscience; optomotor response; spatial frequency; visuomotor; zebrafish.