Creation of the transgenic mice will give scientists a new vehicle for studying human vision problems, as well as a tool for investigating the evolution of sight and how the nervous system reacts to new sources of information, says Michael Crognale, a UW research assistant professor of psychology and Samir Deeb, a UW research professor of medical genetics. Deeb will describe the characteristics of the new line of mice at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology here, May 14. The research also was published last week in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Normal mice and humans both have visual spectral ranges that extend over about 300 nanometers. What the two species see, however, is different.
Humans see in a spectrum that extends from violet to red.
Mice lack the photopigment or protein that allows them to see long-wave or red light. Some birds, insects and fish have even wider vision ranges. The researchers hope to use the mice to investigate a number of scientific questions. Crognale is interested in understanding how the transgenic mice are able to use information being gathered by the new photopigment. We want to know how adaptable the neural system is.