Topic: lamprey

The appearance of image-forming eyes enabled animals to use vision for advanced behavioural repertoires, as constantly redirecting their gaze away or towards relevant targets. To prevent image blurring, mechanisms to stabilize the world in the retina are required. The vestibulo-ocular and the optokinetic reflexes are the main contributors to gaze stabilization, by generating compensatory movements, while the optic tectum integrates multisensory information and generates orienting/evasive gaze movements in all vertebrates. We use the lamprey, oldest extant vertebrate that shows remarkable simil

To perform advanced behaviors employing vision, mechanisms are necessary to stabilize the scene on the retina, including the optokinetic reflex, mediated by the pretectum (PT). Additionally, this stabilizing responses are modified to redirect our eyes to specific targets playing a key role the optic tectum (OT). Here, we investigated the role of PT and OT in processing optokinetic and non-optokinetic stimuli in the lamprey; an accessible animal model that enables ex-vivo preparations maintaining sensory organs. Moreover, the unique stepwise development of their visual system allows to study th