Neural prosthetics aim to restore function to sensory deficits. In the same sense that cochlear implants can restore auditory function, visual neural prosthetics aim to restore visual function. A strain of rats with retinal degeneration are subjects of great interest when exploring the effect of a visual neural prosthetics on visual perception. In this study we explore the rat response to a visual stimulus in normal vision rats through behavior conditioning in the development of a training protocol that will be used to assess visual perception in retinal degenerative rats. We found that autoshaping was a successful method in training rats to form an association between lever presses and food delivery.
We also found that light discrimination under a two-lever, one-wall paradigm resulted in strong subject response to introducing light dependent food enforcer delivery. Further exploration of visual perception in rats under this paradigm was unable to be performed