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Brain stem and cortical contributions to the generation of horizontal optokinetic eye movements in humans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Laurence R. Harris ,
Terri L. Lewis  and
Daphne Maurer
Laurence R. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Terri L. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Daphne Maurer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
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Abstract

We evaluated the subcortical pathways’ contribution to human adults’ horizontal OKN by using a method similar to that used previously with cats (Harris & Smith, 1990; Smith & Harris, 1991). Five normal adults viewed plaids composed of two drifting sinusoidal gratings arranged such that their individual directions of drift were 60 deg or more from the direction of coherent motion of the overall pattern. Physiological evidence indicates that under monocular viewing, nasalward coherent motion gives advantage to any crossed subcortical contribution while temporalward coherent motion minimizes it. We recorded horizontal eye movement by infrared reflection and asked subjects to report the perceived direction of motion.

During both binocular and monocular viewing, the direction of the slow phase of OKN fell closer to the direction of coherent movement than to that of the oriented components. Monocular viewing produced no nasal-temporal asymmetries in the influence of coherent motion on the direction of OKN. This suggests that in humans the influence of coherent motion is mediated primarily by cortical mechanisms and, unlike in cats, with little or no involvement of subcortical mechanisms in the generation of horizontal OKN.

Keywords

Eye movementsOptokinetic nystagmusMotion perceptionCortical mechanismsPlaidsHuman adults
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , March 1993 , pp. 247 - 259
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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