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A neural correlate for vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression during voluntary eye–head gaze shifts

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 404–410 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is classically associated with stabilizing the visual world on the retina by producing an eye movement of equal and opposite amplitude to the motion of the head. Here we have directly measured the efficacy of VOR pathways during voluntary combined eye–head gaze shifts by recording from individual vestibular neurons in monkeys whose heads were unrestrained. We found that the head-velocity signal carried by VOR pathways is reduced during gaze shifts in an amplitude-dependent manner, consistent with results from behavioral studies in humans and monkeys. Our data support the hypothesis that the VOR is not a hard-wired reflex, but rather a pathway that is modulated in a manner that depends on the current gaze strategy.

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Figure 1: Activity of an example PVP neuron (unit 46_1) during the head-restrained condition.
Figure 2: Activity of an example PVP neuron (unit 46_1) before, during and after vestibular quick phases (a) and large gaze shifts (b,c).
Figure 3: Example gaze shifts of 20–30 degrees (a) and 50–60 degrees (b) amplitude for the example PVP neuron, unit 46_1.
Figure 4: Amplitude-dependent attenuation of head-velocity sensitivity during gaze shifts.
Figure 5: Mechanisms for VOR suppression during gaze shifts.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Guitton for discussions and comments on the manuscript, P. A. Sylvestre and G. A. Wellenius for critically reading the manuscript and W. Kucharski and A. Smith for technical assistance. This study was supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC).

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  1. Aerospace Medical Research Unit, McGill University , Montreal, H3G 1Y6, Quebec, Canada

    Jefferson E. Roy & Kathleen E. Cullen

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Correspondence to Kathleen E. Cullen.

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Roy, J., Cullen, K. A neural correlate for vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression during voluntary eye–head gaze shifts. Nat Neurosci 1, 404–410 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/1619

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