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The Photopic ERG of the Albino Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus): A Model of the Human Photopic ERG

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Abstract

Altricial rodents such as rats and mice are probably the most widely used animal model in the electroretinogram (ERG) literature. However, while the scotopic responses of these rodents share obvious similarities with that of humans, their photopic electroretinograms are strikingly different. For instance, the photopic ERGs of rats and mice include, when measurable, a minimal a-wave, while the b-wave is of much larger amplitude than that of humans. The purpose of this study is to present the albino guinea pig which is like humans, is a precocial animal, and is a better rodent model of the human photopic ERG. In order to investigate the above, photopic electroretinograms and oscillatory potentials, obtained from guinea pigs and human subjects, were compared. Furthermore, in a subset of animals we injected, intravitreally, selective blockers of the ON- (L-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid: L-AP-4; 10 mM) or OFF- (kynurenic acid: KYN; 50 mM) retinal pathways in order to mimic similar retinal disorders found in human. Based on our results, we believe that, compared to rats and mice, the photopic (cone-mediated) ERG of the guinea pig clearly represents a superior rodent model of the human photopic ERG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Ophthalmology(D-164) & Neurology-Neurosurgery, McGill University-Montreal Children’s Hospital-Research Institute, 2300 Tupper Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1P3, Canada

    Julie Racine & Pierre Lachapelle

  2. Département de Sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Sandrine Joly, Marianne Rufiange & Pierre Lachapelle

  3. École d’optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Christian Casanova & Pierre Lachapelle

  4. Clinique Vétérinaire Voltaire, Paris, France

    Serge Rosolen

  5. INSERM unité U592, Paris, France

    Serge Rosolen

Authors
  1. Julie Racine
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  2. Sandrine Joly
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  3. Marianne Rufiange
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  4. Serge Rosolen
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  5. Christian Casanova
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  6. Pierre Lachapelle
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Correspondence to Pierre Lachapelle.

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Racine, J., Joly, S., Rufiange, M. et al. The Photopic ERG of the Albino Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus): A Model of the Human Photopic ERG. Doc Ophthalmol 110, 67–77 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-005-7345-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-005-7345-x

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