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Visual Field Analysis: A reliable method to score left and right eye use using automated tracking
Mathilde Josserand1,2, Orsola Rosa-Salva1, Elisabetta Versace1,3,4
1Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
Behavior Research Methods
|October 9, 2021
Summary
Researchers developed Visual Field Analysis, an open-source application for automatically measuring animal eye use. This tool accurately quantifies left-right eye preferences, overcoming manual analysis limitations in behavioral studies.
Area of Science:
- Ethology
- Neuroscience
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Brain and behavioral asymmetries, including preferential eye use, are observed across diverse animal taxa.
- Manual analysis of eye use from video recordings is time-consuming and prone to bias.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce Visual Field Analysis, an open-source application for automated quantification of eye use.
- To validate the accuracy and reliability of Visual Field Analysis using domestic chicks.
Main Methods:
- Utilized DeepLabCut, a deep neural network-based tracking toolbox, for high-accuracy animal body part tracking.
- Developed Visual Field Analysis as an open-source application to extract eye use data from video recordings.
- Compared automated eye use measures from Visual Field Analysis with manual scoring methods.
Main Results:
- Visual Field Analysis demonstrated a near-perfect correlation with manual scoring methods for eye use measures.
- The application reliably and objectively quantifies left-right eye use preferences.
- Achieved fine-scale analysis of eye use in experimental paradigms.
Conclusions:
- Visual Field Analysis provides a novel, automated, and accurate method for studying eye use asymmetries.
- This tool enhances the efficiency and objectivity of behavioral research on lateralization.
- Facilitates reliable analysis of eye use across various experimental setups and species.
