Restricting eye movements in the anesthetized rat: a comparison of four techniques

Four techniques for the immobilization of rodent eyes were compared. Eye movements were plotted over a three hour period by reflecting a laser beam off a small mirror affixed to the cornea. Surgical techniques for producing local paralysis of the extra-ocular eye muscles were inconsistently successful. Physical stabilization techniques reliably reduced eye movements to an extent compatible with certain neurophysiological tests. None of the techniques was as efficacious as the use of neuromuscular blocking agents combined with physical restraint.