Visually guided reaching in the cat reared in fixed or random frequency stroboscopic light.

The effect of deprivation of visual perception of movement in a visuo-motor task has been tested in cats reared in stroboscopic light since birth. Three cats were reared in light of fixed (2 flash/sec, flash duration 2 msec) and three in light of random (between 0.5 and 3.5 flash/sec) frequency. These 6 animals, together with 6 control cats, underwent (as adults) a test of visual control of reaching for a target with a paw, with operant conditioning. While the cats raised in fixed frequency stroboscopic conditions (FFS) showed no deficit, those raised in random frequency condition (RFS) exhibited significantly less precise guidance than FFS and control animals.