Institution: University of California Berkeley
Talk Title: Modeling Photoreceptor Loss and Behavioral Performance in Retinitis Pigmentosa in rd10 Mice Using a Cricket-Hunting Assay
Abstract: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a progressive retinal disease that causes vision loss due to the degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptor cells. While the anatomy and morphology of the retina during RP progression has been investigated in previous studies, this study measures the impact of photoreceptor loss on a visually guided behavior in Retinal Degeneration 10 (rd10) mice using a cricket hunting assay. Cricket hunting is an ethologically relevant behavior for assessing vision loss in rodent models of retinal degeneration. The performance of 16 rd10 mice and 8 wild-type (C57BL/6J) mice was measured over time, with age serving as a proxy for the amount of degeneration in rd10 mice. An arena with four mirrors and a camera was used for 3D and 2D tracking and recording of the hunts. DeepLabCut software was employed for markerless tracking of mouse and cricket movements, identifying features of interest (FOI). FOIs included vectored approach-times when the mouse orients its gaze towards and rapidly approaches the cricket, and extended immobilization-times to capture the cricket and consume or hold it for an extended period of time. A custom graphical interface was used to classify these FOIs. We found that rd10 mice showed a progressive increase in time-to-capture crickets, alongside changes in hunting strategies, as their vision deteriorated. These results demonstrate the promise of cricket hunting assays in assessing rodent vision. Future work will focus on evaluating gene therapies for restoring vision in mice with photoreceptor degeneration diseases.