Chilean brush-tailed mouse ( Octodon degus ): a diurnal precocial rodent as a new model to study visual receptive field properties of superior colliculus neurons

2024/12/20 by Natalia Márquez, Alfonso Deichler, Pedro Fernández‐Aburto +5 · 1 voice · 4 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Neuroscience · #Altricial #Biology #Crepuscular #Ecology #Neural dynamics and brain function #Neuroscience #Nocturnal #Precocial #Receptive field #Retinal Development and Disorders #Rodent #Superior colliculus #Visual perception and processing mechanisms #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1152/jn.00128.2024

published in Journal of Neurophysiology 133(2), 358-373 (American Physiological Society)

openalex publication_date 2024/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Rodent species commonly used to study vision are crepuscular/nocturnal, altricial, and possess simpler visual systems than diurnal mammals. Here we introduce an alternative model, the diurnal, precocial, Octodon degus, a Caviomorph rodent with a well-developed visual system. In this study, we characterize the visual responses of the degus’ superior colliculus. Our results suggest that degus have higher visual acuity than nocturnal rodents, positioning degus as a well-suited species for studies of human-like diurnal vision.

Citations

• Silhouettes: A graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis
• Spatial frequency selectivity of cells in macaque visual cortex
• The mammalian superior colliculus: laminar structure and connections
• TrkB Activation during a Critical Period Mimics the Protective Effects of Early Visual Experience on Perception and the Stability of Receptive Fields in Adult Superior Colliculus

Discussions

• Yay, it's finally out! This paper has been a long time in the making. The pandemic interfered with lab work in general, but especially live animal capture in the Chilean Andes plateau regions. doi.org [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

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