One-eye and locomotor compensation in guinea pigs

This study was carried out to examine the effect of blindfolding one eye on locomotor compensation after unilateral labyrinthectomy in guinea pigs. A platform runway, designed to examine the locomotion of this species of animals, was used. Eighteen Hartley-strain albino guinea pigs were used. These animals were divided into three groups, with seven in the control group, six whose right eye had been surgically closed in another group, and five whose left eye had been surgically closed in yet another group. After 7 to 11 days of training, a chemical labyrinthectomy by chloroform injection into the middle ear was performed under light ether anesthesia. Animals were checked for locomotion daily by the aforementioned platform method for about a week until regaining preprocedure levels. The locomotor compensation, depicted through the decrement of the deviation count and running time, was observed. Results have shown that the animal's locomotor compensation retarded significantly in the one-eye groups compared to the control group. In addition, those animals whose one eye, ipsilateral to the labyrinthectomy side, was closed required significantly longer time to resume the preprocedure running performance level than the animals whose one eye, contralateral to the lesion side, was closed. Thus, during locomotor compensation, the visual input obtained by animals with one eye ipsilateral to the labyrinthectomy side may be important compared to the visual input of the animals with the contralateral eye.