전정안구반사(VOR; vestibulo-ocular reflex)는 머리가 움직이는 동안 안정된 망막상을 얻기 위해 일어나는 안구의 보상적 움직임이다. 망막정보와 전정신호가 감각갈등(sensory conflict)을 일으키면 멀미가 일어나며, VOR 이득(gain) 이 변한다는 것이 알려져 있다. 본 보고에서는 VOR을 측정할 수 있는 실용적이고 저렴한 시스템을 LabVIEW와 Arduino를 이용하여 구현하였다. 그리고 이 시스템을 사용하여 VOR의 특징적 변화를 두 가지 실험을 통해서 측 정하였다. 실험 1에서는 자기회전검사법을 이용하여 실험참가자(n = 4)의 수평 및 수직 전정안구반사의 특성을 살펴보았다. 실험 2에서는 가상환경 하에서 실험참가자(n = 8)가 정지된 화면을 볼 때와 사이버멀미(cybersickness)를 경험하는 3D 가상주행 영상에 노출되었을 때의 머리 움직임과 안구 운동을 측정하였다. 그 결과, 가상주행을 경험할 때 특징적인 머리 움직임과 안구 운동이 측정되었다. 본 보고에서 소개한 전정안구반사 측정 시스템은 가상환경에서의 사이버멀미 경감을 위한 심리생리학적 연구에 기여할 수 있을 것이다.

Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is one of the commercial important flatfish species in Korea. The ocular signal transduction pathway is important in newly hatched flounders because it is closely involved in the initial feeding phase thus essential for survival during the juvenile period. However, the study of gene expression during ocular development is incomplete in olive flounder. Therefore we examined the expression analysis of specifically induced genes during the development of the visual system in newly hatched flounders. We searched ocular development-involved gene in the database of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from olive flounder eye and this gene similar to arrestin with a partial sequence homology. Microscopic observation of retinal formation corresponded with the time of expression of the arrestin gene in the developmental stage. These results suggest that arrestin plays a vital role in the visual signal transduction pathway of the retina during ocular development. The expression of arrestin was strong in the ocular system during the entirety of the development stages. Our findings regarding arrestin have important implications with respect to its biological role and evolution of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in olive flounder. Further studies are required on the GPCR-mediated signaling pathway and to decipher the functional role of arrestin.

Olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus is one of the most widely cultured fish species in Korea. Although olive flounder receive attention from aquaculture and fisheries and extensive research has been conducted eye morphological change in metamorphosis, but little information was known to molecular mechanism and gene expression of eye development- related genes during the early part of eye formation period. For the reason of eyesight is the most important sense in flounder larvae to search prey, the screening and identification of expressed genes in the eye will provide useful insight into the molecular regulation mechanism of eye development in olive flounder. Through the search of an olive flounder DNA database of expressed sequence tags (EST), we found a partial sequence that was similar to crystallin beta A1 and gamma S. Microscopic observation of retinal formation correspond with the time of expression of the crystallin beta A1 and gamma S gene in the developmental stage, these result suggesting that beta A1 and gamma S play a vital role in the remodeling of the retina during eye development. The expression of crystallin beta A1 and gamma S were obviously strong in eye at all tested developing stage, it is also hypothesized that crystallin acts as a molecular chaperone to prevent protein aggregation during maturation and aging in the eye.