Optomotor Response INTRODUCTION The optomotor response (OMR) is a reflex often used to assess visual abilities. To evoke OMR a rotating cylinder with a striped pattern is presented to an animal on an elevated platform. The resulting head movements are evaluated in relation to the presented stimulus to determine thresholds of visual recognition. The PhenoSys qOMR (quantitative OMR) is a unique system that automatically measures OMR with minimal experimenter effort. It uses a virtual stimulation cylinder that constantly aligns with the animal´s head position. Real-time head tracking delivers quantitative OMR data with fully automatic measurement procedures. qOMR System Setup Basic configuration:      Calibrated 4 screen environment for presenting the virtual stimulation cylinder Elevated central platform for placing a freely moving animal Top and bottom mirror to create an illusion of infinite depth Adjustable infrared illumination IR-camera for automatic head tracking undisturbed by the visual stimulus. omrStudio Software Video-based real-time head tracking A video-based real-time tracking of the animal position and head angle is employed to : 1. the continuous automated re-centering of the virtual cylinder according to the animal´s head position 2. the evaluation of head movement in sync with the stimulation for a quantitative measure of the OMR. This analysis is fully automated. Batch runs with multiple stimulation protocols are easily defined, saved and reloaded Continuous centering of the rotating virtual cylinder Easy operation by an intuitive three step procedure: 1. Stimulus design - flexible and easy configuration of experiment (pattern, rotation, repetitions, etc.) Run experiment - place animal on the platform and start the fully automated measurement Data Analysis - analyze multiple data sets, export to various formats or directly generate publication-ready figures PhenoSys GmbH. Schumannstr. 18. 10117 Berlin. Germany phone: +49 (0) 30 28 87 98 67. e-mail: [email protected]. web: www.phe

Optomotor Response qOMR omrStudio – Three Step Procedure Stimulus esign Data Analysis Run Experiment Typical measurement take a few minutes and consist of a series of different stimuli with intermittent gray-out periods 3-5 measurements are required to receive a solid baseline curve e.g., for the visual acuity Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, differences between clockwise and anti-cw stimulation, and scotopic/photopic conditions are possible measurement parameters The speed of the stimulus rotation is variable Simple, robust, and non invasive test to examine vision in rodents Fully automated...