Using the Hard, Randy, and Rittler Test to Evaluate Color Vision in Capuchins (Cebus libidinosus)

Author(s)

Altavini, Tiago Siebert ^{[1, 2]} ; Henriques, Leonardo Dutra ^{[3, 4, 1, 2]} ; Oliveira Bonci, Daniela Maria ^{[3, 4]} ; Nagy, Balazs Vince ^{[3, 4]} ; Ventura, Dora Fix ^{[3, 4]} ; Pessoa, Valdir Filgueiras ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Brasilia, Neurosci Lab, BR-70910 Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[2] Univ Brasilia, Behav & Primate Ctr, BR-70910 Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Expt Psychol, Inst Psychol, BR-66281 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Neurosci & Behav, BR-66281 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY; v. 33, n. 6, p. 1467-1476, DEC 2012.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

The identification of color vision types in primates is fundamental to understanding the evolution and biological function of color perception. The Hard, Randy, and Rittler (HRR) pseudoisochromatic test categorizes human color vision types successfully. Here we provide an experimental setup to employ HRR in a nonhuman primate, the capuchin (Cebus libidinosus), a platyrrhine with polymorphic color vision. The HRR test consists of plates with a matrix composed of gray circles that vary in size and brightness. Differently colored circles form a geometric shape (X, O, or Delta) that is discriminated visually from the gray background pattern. The ability to identify these shapes determines the type of dyschromatopsy (deficiency in color vision). We tested six capuchins in their own cages under natural sunlight. The subjects chose between two HRR plates in each trial: one with the gray pattern only and the other with a colored shape, presented on the left or right side at random. We presented the test 40 times and calculated the 95 % confidence limits for chance performance based on the binomial test. We also genotyped all subjects for exons 3 and 5 of the X-linked opsin genes. The HRR test diagnosed two subjects as protan dichromats (missing or defective L-cone), three as deutan dichromats (missing or defective M-cone), and one female as trichromat. Genetic analysis supported the behavioral data for all subjects. These findings show that the HRR test can be applied to diagnose color vision in nonhuman primates. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/06026-6 - Psychophysical and genetic study of color vision deficiency in humans with different pathologies
• Grantee: Dora Selma Fix Ventura
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 08/58731-2 - Vision as a sensitive indicator of conditions threatening retinal and central nervous system function
• Grantee: Dora Selma Fix Ventura
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/17423-6 - Study of the visual pigments of New World primates and analysis of genetic markers for diabetic retinopathy
• Grantee: Daniela Maria Oliveira Bonci
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral