Eye-head movement coordination: vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression with head-fixed target fixation

o Abstract-To maintain clear vision, the images on the retina must remain reasonably stable. Head movements are generally dealt with successfully by counter-rotation of the eyes induced by the combined actions of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the optokinetic reflex. A problem of importance relates to the value of the so-called intrinsic gain of the VOR (VORG) in man, and how this gain is modulated to provide appropriate eye movements. We have studied these problems in two situations: 1. fixation of a stationary object of the visual space while the head moves; 2. fixation of an object moving with the head. These two situations were compared to a basic condition in which no visual target was allowed in order to induce "pure" VOR. Eye movements were recorded in seated subjects during stationary sinusoidal and transient rotations around the vertical axis. Subjects were in total darkness (DARK condition) and involved in mental arithmetic. Alternatively, they were provided with a small foveal target, either fixed with respect to earth (earth-fixed target: EFT condition), or moving with them (chair-fixed-target: eFT condition). The stationary rotation experiment was used as baseline for the ensuing experiment and yielded control data in agreement wltn the literature. In all 3 visual conditions, typical responses to transient rotations were rigorously identical during the first 200 ms. They showed, sequentially, a 16-ms delay of the eye behind the head and a rapid increase in eye velocity during 75 to 80 ms, after which the average VORG was *Presented at Head-Neck Symposium, Fontainebleau, July 17-20, 1989. RECEIVED 7 May 1990 ACCEPTED 8 May 1990. 161 0.9 ± 0.15. During the following 50 to 100 ms, the gain remained around 0.9 in all three conditions. Beyond 200 ms, the VORG remained around 0.9 in DARK and increased slowly towards 1 or decreased towards zero in the EFT and eFT conditions, respectively. The time-course of the later events suggests that visual tracking mechanisms came into play to reduce retinal slip through smooth pursuit, and,positiol! error through saccades. Our data also show that in total darkness VORG is set to 0.9 in man. Lower values reported in the literature essentially reflect predictive properties of the vestibuloocular mechanism, particularly evident when the input signal is a sinewave.

Modeling visual-based pitch, lift and speed control strategies in hoverflies

<div><p>To avoid crashing onto the floor, a free falling fly needs to trigger its wingbeats quickly and control the orientation of its thrust accurately and swiftly to stabilize its pitch and hence its speed. Behavioural data have suggested that the vertical optic flow produced by the fall and crossing the visual field plays a key role in this anti-crash response. Free fall behavior analyses have also suggested that flying insect may not rely on graviception to stabilize their flight. Based on these two assumptions, we have developed a model which accounts for hoverflies´ position and pitch orientation recorded in 3D with a fast stereo camera during experimental free falls. Our dynamic model shows that optic flow-based control combined with closed-loop control of the pitch suffice to stabilize the flight properly. In addition, our model sheds a new light on the visual-based feedback control of fly´s pitch, lift and thrust. Since graviceptive cues are possibly not used by flying insects, the use of a vertical reference to control the pitch is discussed, based on the results obtained on a complete dynamic model of a virtual fly falling in a textured corridor. This model would provide a useful tool for understanding more clearly how insects may or not estimate their absolute attitude.</p></div

Role du cervelet dans le controle de la coordination du systeme visuo-oculo-manuel : etude comportementale, lesionnelle et pharmacologique chez le Babouin conditionne a des taches de poursuite oculo-manuelle

SIGLECNRS T 57954 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

THE ROLE OF OCULAR MUSCLE PROPRIOCEPTION IN VISUAL LOCALIZATION OF TARGETS

International audienceno abstrac

CEREBELLAR INVOLVEMENT IN THE COORDINATION CONTROL OF THE OCULO-MANUAL TRACKING SYSTEM - EFFECTS OF CEREBELLAR DENTATE NUCLEUS LESION

International audienceno abstrac

VISUAL VESTIBULAR INTERACTION - VESTIBULOOCULAR REFLEX SUPPRESSION WITH HEAD-FIXED TARGET FIXATION

International audienceno abstrac

OCULOMANUAL COORDINATION CONTROL - OCULAR AND MANUAL TRACKING OF VISUAL TARGETS WITH DELAYED VISUAL FEEDBACK OF THE HAND MOTION

International audienceThe aim of this study was to examine coordination control in eye and hand tracking of visual targets. We studied eye tracking of a self-moved target, and simultaneous eye and hand tracking of an external visual target moving horizontally on a screen. Predictive features of eye-hand coordination control were studied by introducing a delay (0 to 450 ms) between the Subject's (S's) hand motion and the motion of the hand-driven target on the screen. In self-moved target tracking with artificial delay, the eyes started to move in response to arm movement while the visual target was still motionless, that is before any retinal slip had been produced. The signal likely to trigger smooth pursuit in that condition must be derived from non-visual information. Candidates are efference copy and afferent signals from arm motion. When tracking an external target with the eyes and the hand, in a condition where a delay was introduced in the visual feedback loop of the hand, the Ss anticipated with the arm the movement of the target in order to compensate the delay. After a short tracking period, Ss were able to track with a low lag, or eventually to create a lead between the hand and the target. This was observed if the delay was less than 250-300 ms. For larger delays, the hand lagged the target by 250-300 ms. Ss did not completely compensate the delay and did not, on the average, correct for sudden changes in movement of the target (at the direction reversal of the trajectory). Conversely, in the whole range of studied delays (0-450 ms), the eyes were always in phase with the visual target (except during the first part of the first cycle of the movement, as seen previously). These findings are discussed in relation to a scheme in which both predictive (dynamic nature of the motion) and coordination (eye and hand movement system interactive signals) controls are included