Development of visuomotor behavior in normal and dark-reared cats

Abstract

The development of visuomotor coordination in light-deprived cats was compared with that of newborn animals, raised under normal circumstances, using behavioral tests. Two groups of light-deprived cats were studied: one of which was dark-reared for 4 months, the other for 7 months. After dark-rearing the cats were kept in animal rooms which were illuminated for 12 h each day. All cats spent at least 4 h each day in a big playroom, where toys were available. Obstacle avoidance, tracking of moving objects, optokinetic nystagmus, visually triggered extension, visually guided placing, visual cliff behavior and jumping were tested. All light-deprived cats revealed a complete recovery of visuomotor behavior; the 7-months deprived cats recovered within 10 weeks and the 4-months deprived ones within 7 weeks. The time period in which the various responses in both groups of light-deprived cats developed after dark-rearing was found to be roughly in accordance with that of normally visually inexperienced kittens after birth.