Recording the photopic electroretinogram from conscious adult Yucatan micropigs.

The micropig is viewed by many as one of the best animal models of human system physiology. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple, rapid and reliable method to record clinical electroretinograms from conscious adult Yucatan micropigs. Photopic ERGs were recorded from 18 conscious animals following a 3-h period of preadaptation to a moderate photopic environment. Rectal temperature and blood pressure were monitored throughout the experiment. In order to test the reproducibility of our procedure, the same protocol was repeated (n=6 micropigs) on three different recording sessions each separated by a 48-h period. Our results indicate that the recording of reproducible ERGs, in the conscious Yucatan micropig, is feasible provided that an adequate experimental approach is used. We believe that our method will enable investigators to perform retinal physiology experiments using an approach which is compatible with that used in a human clinical setup thus facilitating the transposition of experimental data from animal to human.