The visual system of the cat

Blake, Randolph

doi:10.3758/bf03204283

Cited by 23 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 333 publications

(247 reference statements)

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“…Cats have been widely used as model animals in anatomical and physiological studies of the visual system (e.g., Bishop et al 1962; Hubel and Wiesel 1962; Kolb and Famiglietti 1974; Blake 1979; Wässle et al 1981a, b; Buzás et al 2013; Kóbor et al 2017); however, the focus of morphological investigations turned towards other popular animal models in the past decades including primates, rabbits, and mice. Therefore, there is a general paucity of information regarding the morphological substrates of electrophysiological results in the cat retina including the presence, distribution, and cellular specificity of Cx36 gap junctions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connexin-36 distribution and layer-specific topography in the cat retina

et al. 2019

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Connexin-36 (Cx36) is the major constituent of mammalian retinal gap junctions positioned in key signal pathways. Here, we examined the laminar and large-scale topographical distribution of Cx36 punctate immunolabels in the retina of the cat, a classical model of the mammalian visual system. Calretinin-immunoreactive (CaR-IR) cell populations served to outline the nuclear and plexiform layers and to stain specific neuronal populations. CaR-IR cells included horizontal cells in the outer retina, numerous amacrine cells, and scattered cells in the ganglion cell layer. Cx36-IR plaques were found among horizontal cell dendrites albeit without systematic colocalization of the two labels. Diffuse Cx36 immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of AII amacrine cells, but no colocalization of Cx36 plaques was observed with either the perikarya or the long varicose dendrites of the CaR-IR non-AII amacrine cells. Cx36 puncta were seen throughout the entire inner plexiform layer showing their highest density in the ON sublamina. The densities of AII amacrine cell bodies and Cx36 plaques in the ON sublamina were strongly correlated across a wide range of eccentricities suggesting their anatomical association. However, the high number of plaques per AII cell suggests that a considerable fraction of Cx36 gap junctions in the ON sublamina is formed by other cell types than AII amacrine cells drawing attention to extensive but less studied electrically coupled networks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connexin-36 distribution and layer-specific topography in the cat retina

et al. 2019

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“…For the following reasons, we consider that the domestic cat ( Felis silvestris catus ) is a good candidate species for the comparative study of susceptibility to geometrical illusions. Like the other species mentioned above, cats depend in large part on visual cues that are likely similar to those used by other mammalian species, including humans, to navigate in their environment (see for some comparison, Blake, 1979; Byosiere, Chouinard, Howell, & Bennett, 2017; Miller & Murphy, 1995). Like dogs, they belong to the order Carnivora, but in contrast, they have a semiarboreal lifestyle.…”

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confidence: 99%

Perception of the Delboeuf illusion by the adult domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) in comparison with other mammals.

Szenczi¹,

Velázquez-López²,

Urrutia³

et al. 2019

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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The comparative study of the perception of visual illusions between different species is increasingly recognized as a useful noninvasive tool to better understand visual perception and its underlying mechanisms and evolution. The aim of the present study was to test whether the domestic cat is susceptible to the Delboeuf illusion in a manner similar to other mammalian species studied to date. For comparative reasons, we followed the methods used to test other mammals in which the animals were tested in a 2-way choice task between same-size food stimuli presented on different-size plates. In 2 different control conditions, overall the 18 cats tested spontaneously chose more often the larger amount of food, although at the individual level, they showed interindividual differences. In the Delboeuf illusion condition, where 2 equal amounts of food were presented on different-size plates, all cats chose the food presented on the smaller plate more often than on the larger one, suggesting that they were susceptible to the illusion at the group level, although at the individual level none of them performed significantly above chance. As we found no correlation between the cats’ overall performance in the control conditions and their performance in the illusion condition, we propose that the mechanisms underlying spontaneous size discrimination and illusion perception might be different. In the discussion, we compare the results of the present study with the results for other previously tested mammals and highlight some possible reasons for their similarities and differences.

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“…This paradigm seemed to be ideal for rehabilitating human hemianopic patients. The cat and human visual systems have fundamental similarities (Blake, 1979(Blake, , 1988Crawford et al, 1990); the cortices and subcortical structures of both are sensitive to auditory and visual stimuli, and both show evidence of multisensory plasticity (Giard and Peronnet, 1999;Foxe et al, 2000;Calvert, 2001;Calvert et al, 2001). Thus, we examined the possibility that this multisensory rehabilitation paradigm would be effective in human stroke-induced hemianopic patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ameliorating Hemianopia with Multisensory Training

et al. 2023

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Hemianopia (unilateral blindness), a common consequence of stroke and trauma to visual cortex, is a debilitating disorder for which there are few treatments. Research in an animal model has suggested that visual-auditory stimulation therapy, which exploits the brain’s multisensory architecture, may be effective in restoring visual sensitivity in hemianopia. It was tested in two male human patients that were hemianopic for at least eight months following a stroke. The patients were repeatedly exposed to congruent visual-auditory stimuli within their blinded hemifield during two-hour sessions over several weeks. The results were dramatic. Both recovered the ability to detect and describe visual stimuli throughout their formerly blind field within a few weeks. They could also localize these stimuli, identify some of their features, and could perceive multiple visual stimuli simultaneously in both fields. These results indicate that the multisensory therapy is a rapid and effective method for restoring visual function in hemianopia.SIGNIFICANCE:Hemianopia (blindness on one side of space) is widely considered to be a permanent disorder. Here we show that a simple multisensory training paradigm can ameliorate this disorder in human patients.

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The visual system of the cat

Cited by 23 publications

References 333 publications

Connexin-36 distribution and layer-specific topography in the cat retina

Connexin-36 distribution and layer-specific topography in the cat retina

Perception of the Delboeuf illusion by the adult domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) in comparison with other mammals.

Ameliorating Hemianopia with Multisensory Training

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