title: Comparisons of the amplitude size and the reproducibility of three different electrodes to record the corneal flash electroretinogram in rodents.
abstract: To compare corneal electrodes commonly used in rodent eyes for repeat and left versus right eye accuracy and variability to record the flash electroretinogram (ERG). Animals studied were eight C57BL/6 mice and eight rats of the Wistar strain. Scotopic ERGs were recorded from eyes of dark-adapted anesthetized rodents to compare a custom-made gold-wire contact lens electrode (CLE), a cotton-wick silver-silver chloride electrode (SCLE), and a coiled stainless steel wire electrode (SSE). Compared to SCLE and SSE. the potentials recorded by CLE are characterized by significantly larger ERG amplitudes and oscillatory potentials in both rats and mice (p <0.0001). In analyzing test-retest data comparing the three different electrodes the coefficient of variation was smaller (range, 10.3-15.5%) and the interclass correlation coefficient (0.77-0.93) showed a better agreement for the CLE. Recording scotopic ERGs with custom-made gold-wire contact lens electrodes records large amplitudes and shows a good reproducibility and reliability to monitor retinal function in rodent eyes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Bayer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mittag
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Podos
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Maag
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003261:Contact Lenses; D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology*; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000502:physiology; D004596:Electroretinography; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008839:Microelectrodes; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity