Monocular depth perception in rats.

Abstract

64 male hooded rats were tested on a visual depth discrimination task in a modified Lashley Jumping Stand. The monocular Ss ( n = 32) were operated upon to close either the left or right eye and the control Ss ( n = 32) were sham operated. There were no significant differences in jumping performance between the binocular and the monocular Ss although the task was facilitated for both groups when a visual depth was increased. However, the monocular Ss showed significant orienting responses toward the “unoperated” side before they jumped. The results suggest that motion parallax overcomes both monocular and binocular visual weakness in a jumping-stand discrimination situation.