| 研究実績の概要 |
The main focus of the last year was on building up the laboratory for eye tracking research in marmosets. We developed a dual way to fix the marmoset's head: the squeeze helmet made from moldable plastic pressing the head from two sides and the surgically implantable head-post.
Initially, the main focus has been on free-viewing experiments, where the head-squeezed marmosets observed naturalistic stimuli. In a pilot project, we tested 5 controls and 4 poly IC marmosets from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences showing some behavioural abnormalities similar to human schizophrenia. Currently, the obtained data is being analysed and we hope to produce a publication from the results.
Lately, the focus has shifted to the fixation training, which allows a more precise calibration of the gaze data and conditioning of the behaviour. 4 marmosets are trained using the head-squeeze now and 1 marmoset has been implanted with the head-post and his training has also begun. More than 30 different software scripts have been written to present marmosets with various visual stimuli. Also stand-alone computer programs for gaze calibration and online visualisation of the gaze data has been written. 2 marmosets have already learned to fixate to the centrally presented stimuli. Physiological and optogenetic manipulations will follow as soon as enough marmosets have been trained in fixation and saccade tasks. Anatomical research of the oculomotor pathways in the marmosets has also been ongoing and results will be presented during the 40th annual meeting of Japan Neuroscience Society.
|
