Preserving of vision is the main goal in vision research. The presented research evaluates the preservation of visual function in Royal College of Surgeon (RCS) rats using a depth perception test. Rats were placed on a stage with one side containing an illusory steep drop (“cliff”) and another side with a minimal drop (“table”). Latency of stage dismounting and the percentage of rats that set their first foot on the “cliff” side were determined. Nondystrophic Long–Evans (LE) rats were tested as control. Electroretinogram and histology analysis were used to determine retinal function and structure. Four-week-old RCS rats presented a significantly shorter mean latency to dismount the stage compared with 6-week-old rats (mean ± standard error, 13.7 ± 1.68 vs. 20.85 ± 6.5 s, P = 0.018). Longer latencies were recorded as rats aged, reaching 45.72 s in 15-week-old rats (P < 0.00001 compared with 4-week-old rats). All rats at the age of 4 weeks placed their first foot on the table side. By contrast, at the age of 8 weeks, 28.6% rats dismounted on the cliff side and at the age of 10 and 15 weeks, rats randomly dismounted the stage to either table or cliff side. LE rats dismounted the stage faster than 4-week-old RCS rats, but the difference was not statistically significant (7 ± 1.58 s, P = 0.057) and all LE rats dismounted on the table side. The latency to dismount the stage in RCS rats correlated with maximal electroretinogram b-wave under dark and light adaptation (Spearman’s rho test = −0.603 and −0.534, respectively, all P < 0.0001), outer nuclear layer thickness (Spearman’s rho test = −0.764, P = 0.002), and number of S- and M-cones (Spearman’s rho test = −0.763 [P = 0.002], and −0.733 [P = 0.004], respectively). The cliff avoidance test is an objective, quick, and readily available method for the determination of RCS rats’ visual function.

中文翻译：

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使用深度知觉视觉悬崖测试评估皇家外科学院大鼠的视觉功能

保护视力是视力研究的主要目标。所提出的研究使用深度感知测试评估了皇家外科学院 (RCS) 大鼠视觉功能的保存情况。将大鼠放在一个舞台上，一侧有一个虚幻的陡峭下降（“悬崖”），另一侧有一个最小的下降（“桌子”）。确定了阶段下马的延迟和将第一脚踩在“悬崖”一侧的大鼠的百分比。非营养不良的 Long-Evans (LE) 大鼠作为对照进行测试。视网膜电图和组织学分析用于确定视网膜功能和结构。与 6 周大的大鼠相比，4 周大的 RCS 大鼠下台的平均潜伏期显着缩短（平均值 ± 标准误差，13.7 ± 1.68对比20.85 ± 6.5 秒，磷= 0.018)。随着年龄的增长，大鼠的潜伏期更长，在 15 周大的大鼠中达到 45.72 秒（磷< 0.00001 与 4 周龄大鼠相比）。所有 4 周龄的大鼠都将它们的第一只脚放在桌子一侧。相比之下，在 8 周龄时，28.6% 的老鼠在悬崖边下马，而在 10 和 15 周龄时，老鼠随机下马到桌子或悬崖边。LE大鼠下台速度比4周龄RCS大鼠快，但差异无统计学意义（7±1.58 s，磷= 0.057) 并且所有 LE 大鼠都在桌边下马。RCS 大鼠下台的潜伏期与暗适应和光适应下的最大视网膜电图 b 波相关（Spearman 的 rho 检验分别 = -0.603 和 -0.534，所有磷< 0.0001)，外核层厚度（Spearman 的 rho 检验 = -0.764，磷= 0.002），以及 S 和 M 锥的数量（Spearman 的 rho 检验 = -0.763 [磷= 0.002] 和 -0.733 [磷= 0.004]，分别）。悬崖回避试验是一种客观、快速、容易获得的方法，用于测定 RCS 大鼠的视觉功能。