title: Noninvasive imaging of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel photoreceptor mosaic.
abstract: Ground squirrels are an increasingly important model for studying visual processing, retinal circuitry, and cone photoreceptor function. Here, we demonstrate that the photoreceptor mosaic can be longitudinally imaged noninvasively in the 13-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) using confocal and nonconfocal split-detection adaptive optics scanning ophthalmoscopy using 790 nm light. Photoreceptor density, spacing, and Voronoi analysis are consistent with that of the human cone mosaic. The high imaging success rate and consistent image quality in this study reinforce the ground squirrel as a practical model to aid drug discovery and testing through longitudinal imaging on the cellular scale.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy,Medical College of Wisconsin,Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sajdak
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology,Medical College of Wisconsin,Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Yusufu N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Sulai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy,Medical College of Wisconsin,Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Langlo
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute,University of California, Santa Barbara,Santa Barbara,California.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute,University of California, Santa Barbara,Santa Barbara,California.
authors.forename: Steven K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology,University of Wisconsin Oshkosh,Oshkosh,Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Dana K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Merriman
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy,Medical College of Wisconsin,Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dubra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D012589:Sciuridae
keywords: Adaptive optics; Photoreceptors; Retinal imaging; Rodent; Visual streak