The VOR: A Model for Visual-Motor Plasticity

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is driven by vestibular sensory signals from the labyrinths of the inner ear and generates compensatory eye movements whose goal is to maintain a clear and stable view of the environment during head movements. These eye movements are elicited with short latency and utilize relatively well-characterized neural circuitry in the pons and cerebellum. The VOR operates open-loop, thus requiring a versatile and fast way of adjusting its properties in response to changes in either the sensory drive or the motor output. Thus, it is characterized by an enormous ability to adapt to altered sensorimotor environments. The relatively simple neural architecture of these reflexive responses, coupled with their stereotyped but highly adaptable properties, make them ideal to study sensorimotor plasticity.