Combined action of optokinetic reflex (OKR) and vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in macaque monkey during transient stimulation

Abstract

Interaction of vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and optokinetic reflex (OKR) was studied in macaque monkeys by recording horizontal eye movements during transient rotations of their heads and/or an optokinetic pattern in space. At low peak velocities of the stimuli (1.25 degrees/s, 10.0 degrees/s) the eyes were rather well stabilized on the optokinetic pattern, independently of whether the head, the pattern, or both were rotated. At higher velocities (40.0 degrees/s), the OKR gain was attenuated and, when combining vestibular and optokinetic stimuli, the eyes became increasingly stabilized in space. The data could be simulated by a computer model previously designed to describe VOR-OKR interaction during sinusoidal rotations. In this model eye stabilization primarily relies on the OKR, while the role of the VOR is to compensate for the limited bandwidth of the OKR.