TY - JOUR
T1 - Reaching the Limit of the oculomotor plant
T2 - 3d kinematics after abducens nerve stimulation during the torsional vestibulo-ocular reflex
AU - Klier, Eliana M.
AU - Meng, Hui
AU - Angelaki, Dora E.
PY - 2012/9/19
Y1 - 2012/9/19
N2 - Accumulating evidence shows that the oculomotor plant is capable of implementing aspects of three-dimensional kinematics such as Listing's law and the half-angle rule. But these studies have only examined the eye under static conditions or with movements that normally obey these rules (e.g., saccades and pursuit). Here we test the capability of the oculomotor plant to rearrange itself as necessary for non-half-angle behavior. Three monkeys (Macaca mulatta) fixated five vertically displaced targets along the midsagittal plane while sitting on a motion platform that rotated sinusoidally about the naso-occipital axis. This activated the torsional, rotational vestibuloocular reflex, which exhibits a zero-angle or negative-angle rule (depending on the visual stimulus). On random sinusoidal cycles, we stimulated the abducens nerve and observed the resultant eye movements. If the plant has rearranged itself to implement this non-halfangle behavior, then stimulation should reveal this behavior. On the other hand, if the plant is only capable of half-angle behavior, then stimulation should reveal a half-angle rule. We find the latter to be true and therefore additional neural signals are likely necessary to implement non-half-angle behavior.
AB - Accumulating evidence shows that the oculomotor plant is capable of implementing aspects of three-dimensional kinematics such as Listing's law and the half-angle rule. But these studies have only examined the eye under static conditions or with movements that normally obey these rules (e.g., saccades and pursuit). Here we test the capability of the oculomotor plant to rearrange itself as necessary for non-half-angle behavior. Three monkeys (Macaca mulatta) fixated five vertically displaced targets along the midsagittal plane while sitting on a motion platform that rotated sinusoidally about the naso-occipital axis. This activated the torsional, rotational vestibuloocular reflex, which exhibits a zero-angle or negative-angle rule (depending on the visual stimulus). On random sinusoidal cycles, we stimulated the abducens nerve and observed the resultant eye movements. If the plant has rearranged itself to implement this non-halfangle behavior, then stimulation should reveal this behavior. On the other hand, if the plant is only capable of half-angle behavior, then stimulation should reveal a half-angle rule. We find the latter to be true and therefore additional neural signals are likely necessary to implement non-half-angle behavior.
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U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2595-12.2012
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2595-12.2012
M3 - Article
C2 - 22993439
AN - SCOPUS:84866389230
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 32
SP - 13237
EP - 13243
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 38
ER -