Construction and operation of a high-speed, high-precision eye tracker for tight stimulus synchronization and real-time gaze monitoring in human and animal subjects

Abstract

Measurements of the fast and precise movements of the eye—critical to many vision, oculomotor, and animal behavior studies—can be made non-invasively by video oculography. The protocol here describes the construction and operation of a research-grade video oculography system with ∼0.1◦ precision over the full typical viewing range at over 450 Hz with tight synchronization with stimulus onset. The protocol consists of three stages: (1) system assembly, (2) calibration for both cooperative, and for minimally cooperative subjects (e.g., animals or infants), and (3) gaze monitoring and recording.