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Localization of disappearance of a light target during tracking eye movements. I.

A light target moving at a constant velocity in horizontal direction and disappearing at a locus determined by the experimenter is presented to the subjects in the experiments. The task of the subjects is to track its movement with their eyes and to determine the place of its disappearance using a scale fixed on the screen. Under these conditions they systematically mislocate the locus of disappearance in the direction of the eye movement. The mislocation is in linear dependence on the velocity of tracking and, moreover, it depends on the locus of disappearance of the target. The error is smaller when the target disappears at the end of tracking. The theory that mislocation is due to perception time is rejected.

Adult↗

Human cerebral potentials associated with REM sleep rapid eye movements: links to PGO waves and waking potentials.

Eye movement triggered averaging and topographic display techniques indicate the presence of parieto-occipital potentials that precede the rapid eye movements of human REM sleep. Since these potentials have strong similarities with PGO waves in animals, including lateralization according to eye movement (EM) direction, and with waking EM-antecedent potentials in man, this suggests that PGO-like activity both exists in man, and may be functionally related to EM-antecedent potentials in waking. The ability to detect such central potentials opens the possibility of studying REM sleep central physiological structure in a variety of normal and pathological conditions in humans.

Adult↗

Dyslexia: saccadic eye movements.

This paper describes an extensive study of the parameters of saccadic eye movement in a group of 28 poor-reading children and a comparative normally reading group of 31 children. Ages ranged from 6.0 to 16.9 yr. Poor readers had normal intelligence but were lagging by at least two years in reading ability as compared to their peer age group. Parameters studied in refixation eye movements included saccadic latency, accuracy, velocity, and acceleration, as well as differences in latency for abduct and adduct movements. Shapes of saccades were also studied. It was shown that eye-movement performance in simple saccadic refixation was not distinguishably different for poor readers and normal readers, even though in reading, which requires higher processing, eye-movement characteristics are quite different. Maturational changes for various saccadic eye-movement parameters were also examined for the normal and poor reading groups.

Adolescent↗

The contributions of eye movements to the efficacy of brief exposure treatment for reducing fear of public speaking.

The present study was designed to isolate the effects of the eye-movement component of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) procedure in the treatment of fear of public speaking. Seventy-one undergraduate psychology students who responded in a fearful manner on the Fear Survey Schedule II and on a standardized, self-report measure of public speaking anxiety (Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker; PRCS) were randomly assigned to one of four groups in a 2x2 factorial design. The two independent variables assessed were treatment condition (imagery plus eye movements vs. imagery alone) and type of imagery (fear-relevant vs. relaxing). Dependent variables assessed were self-reported and physiological anxiety during exposure and behavioral indices of anxiety while giving a speech. Although process measures indicated exposure to fear-relevant imagery increased anxiety during the procedure, no significant differences among groups were found on any of the outcome measures, except that participants who received eye movements were less likely to give a speech posttreatment than participants who did not receive eye movements. Addition of the eye movements to the experimental procedure did not result in enhancement of fear reduction. It was concluded, consistent with the results of past research, that previously reported positive effects of the EMDR procedure may be largely due to exposure to conditioned stimuli.

Adult↗

Saccadic eye movements of dyslexic adult subjects.

The characteristics of visually guided saccadic eye movements were compared in 12 normal adult subjects and 12 test subjects of normal intelligence, but with problems in reading and writing. All subjects were examined psychometrically for different cognitive abilities, and for their reading and writing capabilities. The anamnestic reports about their reading and writing problems earlier in their lives were analysed. Based on scores of the writing and reading tests, the test group was subdivided into two subgroups: A and B (group A reached medium, group B very low scores in both tests). Five different non-cognitive eye movement tasks were applied: two single tasks (gap and overlap) requiring single saccades from a fixation point to a peripherally appearing target and three sequential tasks (overlap, synchronous, and simultaneous) requiring sequences of saccades to four equally spaced targets presented sequentially to the right side from an initial fixation point. Many parameters of the subjects' eye movement performance were determined and their mean values were calculated for each subject. The Student t-test revealed that the eye movement data of the two test groups deviated differently from the data of the control group. Group B had the largest deviation of the eye movement parameter from the control group. The differentiating parameters were the consistency of target acquisition, the saccadic reaction time, and the number of anticipatory responses in the single target tasks. In the sequential tasks these differences were in the amplitude, the number of saccades, and the fixation durations. The incidence of regressive saccades did not discriminate between test subjects and controls. The possible underlying deficits in the attentional control over the saccadic system and their implications for reading are discussed.

Adult↗

Control of eye movement reflexes.

We investigated the effect of strategic suppression of reflexive eye movements on external control over fixation using a fixation offset paradigm. A visual signal at fixation facilitates the fixation reflex and inhibits eye movements. Certain preparatory states render the fixation reflex less reactive to visual stimulation at fixation, as evidenced by a reduction in the fixation offset effect (FOE). For example, past studies have suggested that the reduced FOE during anti-saccade tasks results from the requirement to inhibit reflexive eye movements. We tested whether suppressing reflexive saccades reduces external control over ocular fixation using a go-nogo saccade paradigm. During each trial, one of two targets appeared in the periphery. Participants were instructed to saccade to one target (go), but when the other target appeared they either had to maintain fixation (nogo) or move their eyes in the direction opposite the target (anti). When nogo trials were admixed with target-directed saccades a large FOE was observed compared to when target-directed saccades occurred alone (experiment 1); however, when anti-saccades were mixed with target-directed saccades, a small FOE was observed for both types of eye movements (experiment 2). We conclude that suppressing reflexive eye movements does not reduce external control over fixation. Further research is necessary to elucidate which other component of preparing to make an anti-saccade diminishes the FOE.

Adolescent↗

The eye movements of syncope.

We videotaped the eye movements of syncope in 25 healthy volunteers who induced fainting by hyperventilation and Valsalva maneuver on a tilt table. In an additional three subjects, syncope was similarly induced during horizontal sinusoidal oscillation on a rotating chair while eye movements were recorded by electro-oculogram. Fourteen of 25 subjects experienced syncope on the tilt table. Six had downbeat nystagmus (DBN) at the onset that evolved into upward eye deviation, whereas seven showed isolated tonic upward deviation. In one subject the eyes remained in primary position. The gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) increased by 65% on average during syncope with concurrent vestibular stimulation. DBN, upward eye deviation, and increased VOR gain may all be caused by vestibular disinhibition caused by cerebellar hypoperfusion.

Adult↗

Extraocular muscle proprioception functions in the control of ocular alignment and eye movement conjugacy.

1. The function of extraocular muscle proprioception in the control of eye movements is uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that proprioception contributes to the long-term regulation of ocular alignment and eye movement conjugacy. 2. Eye movements were recorded in monkeys with unilateral extraocular muscle palsies, before and after proprioceptive deafferentation of the paretic eye. Following deafferentation, ocular alignment and saccade conjugacy gradually worsened over several weeks. In contrast, disconjugate adaptation induced by habitual binocular viewing with a prism (disparity-mediated adaptation) occurred normally after deafferentation. 3. These results provide the first evidence that proprioception functions in the control of eye movements in primates, and indicate that proprioception contributes to the long-term adaptive mechanisms that regulate ocular alignment during fixation and saccades. The error signal used in this process may be derived from a mismatch between the efference copy and proprioceptive afference.

Afferent Pathways↗

Using eye movements to assess brain function in mice.

Examining eye movements is an important part of the neurological evaluation of humans; the distribution of the neural circuits that control these movements is such that they are disrupted--often in highly characteristic fashions--by many disease processes. Technical advances have made it possible to measure accurately the eye movements of mice, so it is now possible to use the detective power of eye movement recording to characterize neurological dysfunction in genetically altered strains. Here we introduce analytical tools used in ocular motor research and demonstrate their ability to reveal disorders of the visual pathways, inner ear, and cerebellum.

Animals↗

Saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements in the monkey.

1. Voluntary eye movements were measured in the chronic, unanaesthetized monkey. A training technique is described which conditions the animals to follow a large variety of target trajectories.2. The eye movements of the monkey are not qualitatively different from those of man. In response to random target motions the monkey also employs a combination of saccadic and smooth pursuit movements.3. Monkeys execute their saccades more rapidly than humans.4. Monkeys are capable of attaining smooth pursuit velocities which are twice as fast as those of man.5. Most of the critical experiments showing the separate nature of the saccadic and smooth pursuit modes in man have been performed on monkeys with similar results.6. Therefore, if one remains aware of the quantitative differences between the two primates, results of neurophysiological studies of the occulomotor system of the monkey can be expected to have considerable relevance when extrapolated to man.

Animals↗

Neuron activity in monkey vestibular nuclei during vertical vestibular stimulation and eye movements.

To elucidate how information is processed in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) pathways subserving vertical eye movements, extracellular single-unit recordings were obtained from the vestibular nuclei of alert monkeys trained to track a visual target with their eyes while undergoing sinusoidal pitch oscillations (0.2-1.0 Hz). Units with activity related to vertical vestibular stimulation and/or eye movements were classified as either vestibular units (n = 53), vestibular plus eye-position units (n = 30), pursuit units (n = 10), or miscellaneous units (n = 5), which had various combinations of head- and eye-movement sensitivities. Vestibular units discharged in relation to head rotation, but not to smooth eye movements. On average, these units fired approximately in phase with head velocity; however, a broad range of phase shifts was observed. The activities of 8% of the vestibular units were related to saccades. Vestibular plus eye-position units fired in relation to head velocity and eye position and, in addition, usually to eye velocity. Their discharge rates increased for eye and head movements in opposite directions. During combined head and eye movements, the modulation in unit activity was not significantly different from the sum of the modulations during each alone. For saccades, the unit firing rate either decreased to zero or was unaffected. Pursuit units discharged in relation to eye position, eye velocity, or both, but not to head movements alone. For saccades, unit activity usually either paused or was unaffected. The eye-movement-related activities of the vestibular plus eye-position and pursuit units were not significantly different. A quantitative comparison of their firing patterns suggests that vestibular, vestibular plus eye-position, and pursuit neurons in the vestibular nucleus could provide mossy fiber inputs to the flocculus. In addition, the vertical vestibular plus eye-position neurons have discharge patterns similar to those of fibers recorded rostrally in the medial longitudinal fasciculus. Therefore, our data support the view that vertical vestibular plus eye-position neurons are interneurons of the VOR.

Animals↗

Maturation of motility and motor inhibition in rapid-eye-movement sleep.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the age-related changes in the number of movements in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and to quantify the functional maturation of motor inhibition. STUDY DESIGN: Gross movements, phasic mentalis muscle activity (PMMA), and a new index that expressed the shortness of PMMA (the proportion of short PMMA among all PMMA) were examined cross-sectionally in 87 healthy children from premature babies to preadolescents by means of a single (all-night) polysomnography. RESULTS: The incidence of gross movements and long PMMA decreased with age, whereas that of short PMMA increased with age. The new index exhibited an age-related increase, with the highest correlation with age among sleep parameters examined, and reached an adult level after 6 years of age. CONCLUSION: We found that the age-related reduction of PMMA duration, which was expressed by a new index, occurred in parallel with the maturation of the inhibitory system that is tonically activated during REM sleep. We named this index the tonic inhibition index and concluded that the neuronal system involved in motor inhibition during REM sleep was still maturing during early childhood. We propose the tonic inhibition index as a useful quantitative indicator for the maturity of the inhibitory system.

Adolescent↗

Sensorimotor transformation during eye movements to remembered visual targets.

For eye movements made to visual targets, the brain must transform the retinotopic coordinate frame of the visual system to that of the oculomotor plant. Ideally, responses should exactly match target demands. However, during eye movements to remembered targets, responses are spatially distorted. The transformation does not retain accurate retinotopic registration, having both constant and variable components of error. Generally, the constant pattern of distortion appears as a hypermetria for upward saccades and a hypometria for downward movements. Most of the error accumulates during the first 800 msec of memory-contingent delay. The results are interpreted with respect to theories of how spatial information may be coded and transformed.

Animals↗

A self calibration method using a soft clustering procedure for eye movement recordings.

A nearly automatic method for calibrating eye movement records has been developed. This very robust method is based on a soft clustering algorithm which allows exploration of the whole range of eye movement records for reliable calibration. In contrast to many other methods which carry out the calibration on several discrete points, this method is suitable for continuous determination of the transfer function of the eye movement transducer. Moreover it simultaneously uses the combined properties of vestibulo-ocular reflex, neck-to-eye reflex and smooth pursuit system to reach approximately a unity gain and zero phase lag (in subjects with no severe vestibular disorders or ocumomotor palsy). In addition, this method does not rely heavily on the degree of attention of the subject. The method is particularly suited for the calibration of non linear or noisy transducers like Electro Oculography (EOG). Calibration is performed within a few seconds. So when necessary in clinical applications it is possible to repeat calibrations frequently.

Algorithms↗

Neural mechanisms underlying target selection with saccadic eye movements.

In exploring the visual scene we make about three saccadic eye movements per second. During each fixation, in addition to analyzing the object at which we are looking, a decision has to be made as to where to look next. Although we perform this task with the greatest of ease, the computations to perform the task are complex and involve numerous brain structures. We have applied several investigative tools that include single-cell recordings, microstimulation, pharmacological manipulations and lesions to learn more about the neural control of visually guided eye saccadic movements. Electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus (SC), areas V1 and V2, the lateral intraparietal sulcus (LIP), the frontal eye fields (FEF) and the medial eye fields (MEF) produces saccadic eye movements at low current levels. After ablation of the SC, electrical microstimulation of V1, V2, and LIP no longer elicits saccadic eye movements whereas stimulation of the FEF and MEF continues to be effective. Ablation of the SC but not of the FEF eliminates short-latency saccadic eye movements to visual targets called "express saccades," whereas lesions of the FEF selectively interfere with target selection. Bilateral removal of both the SC and the FEF causes major, long lasting deficits: all visually elicited saccadic eye movements are eliminated. In intact monkeys, subthreshold electrical microstimulation of the FEF and MEF as well as the lower layers of V1 and V2 and of some subregions of LIP greatly facilitates the choice of targets presented in the receptive fields of the stimulated neurons. By contrast, stimulation of the upper layers of V1 and V2 and other sub-regions of LIP produces a dramatic interference in target selection. Examination of the role of inhibitory circuits in eye-movement generation reveals that local infusion of muscimol, a GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) agonist, or bicuculline, a GABA antagonist, interferes with target selection in V1. On the other hand, infusion of bicuculline into the FEF produces facilitation in target choice and irrepressible saccades. It appears therefore that inhibitory circuits play a central role in visual analysis in V1 and in the generation of saccadic eye movements in the FEF. It is proposed that two major streams can be discerned in visually guided eye-movement control, the posterior from occipital and parietal cortex that reaches the brainstem via the SC and the anterior from the FEF and MEF that has direct access to the brainstem oculomotor centers.

Animals↗

Systematic perceptual distortion of 3D slant by disconjugate eye movements.

When an observer pursues an object moving away from him or her, both eyes rotate in the opposite direction, and this type of disconjugate eye movement can generate eye movement-induced disparities in the case of dynamic objects that are present around the pursuit object. Such disparities are not usually generated by conjugate eye movement. The aim of this study was to determine whether eye movement-induced disparities could be calibrated with eye position information. Observers were requested to judge the slant of an object defined by the spatiotemporal pattern of occlusion during disconjugate eye movement. Interestingly, the observers' perception of the slant of the target object was systematically distorted, although the perceptual distortion decreased somewhat in the presence of a salient reference around the target. This suggests that eye movement-induced disparities are not calibrated properly with eye position information.

Eye Movements↗

Abnormalities of nonvisually-guided eye movements in Parkinson's disease.

Rapid eye movements (saccades) were examined in 7 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and a matched group of normal control subjects. The effect of instructional and stimulus conditions used to elicit saccades was examined using 3 experimental paradigms. Eye movements directly elicited by a novel peripheral target were unimpaired in patients with PD as compared with control subjects. Saccades to a remembered target location, however, were dysmetric in the PD group and showed a characteristic multistepping pattern. The PD impairment was not caused by a loss of information on target location since their final eye position was close to the target at all eccentricities. Peak velocity, duration, and latency did not distinguish between PD patients and controls. These results support the view that for saccades which are not directly elicited by a visual target there is a neural pathway that can be distinguished from structures involved in the generation of visually elicited (or 'reflexive') saccades. The finding that in PD saccades to a remembered target are selectively impaired suggests that structures in the basal ganglia play a crucial role in this alternative pathway.

Aged↗

Dynamics of cover test eye movements.

The dynamics of unilateral cover test eye movements, never before systematically investigated with an objective recording system, are shown to be more complex than textbook accounts of them. We administered the cover test to nine heterophoric subjects by means of electromechanical occluders. Eye movements were recorded using the infrared photoelectric technique. Saccadic and vergence movements of the fixating eye were observed in almost all records when the occluded eye was uncovered. These movements were found in esophores and exophores and in both large and small phoria cases. Such movements were previously described in other asymmetric vergence tasks and appear to obey Hering's law of equal innervation. Uncovering the dominant eye, in cases of clear dominancy, resulted in shorter latency and larger amplitude saccades than did uncovering the nondominant eye. These large saccades were frequently of unequal amplitude in each eye. Trained subjects appear to use dynamic overshoots to increase this saccadic inequality and thereby attain vergence during saccades. Movements after the application of a cover to one eye, while grossly similar to textbook descriptions of them, are found to contain small vergence drifts and refixation (correcting) saccades in the nonoccluded eye.

Adult↗