[Effect of immersion hypokinesia on the characteristics of eye and head movement during the human gaze fixation reaction]

Abstract

The effect of 7-day immersion hypokinesia on the coordination of eye and head movements during the gaze fixation reaction was investigated. The most distinct and persistent effect was an inadequate increase in the rate of eye counter-rolling that mismatched head movements. This reduced significantly the response time and accuracy: the time of gaze fixation lengthened appreciably and the number of positional errors grew considerably. These data suggest that in the oculomotor control system proprioceptive signals produce an inhibitory effect on the vestibular input.