Optokinetic and Smooth-Pursuit Response After Adaptive Modification of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex

Abstract

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) serves to maintain retinal image stability during rotation by utilizing semicircular canal input to generate conjugate eye movements that are equal but opposite to head movements. The VOR is related to the optokinetic reflex (OKR) which maintains retinal image stability by generating eye movement which follows large field visual motion. Another visual system, that of smooth pursuit (SP), allows accurate tracking of small central retinal targets. The VOR, OKR, and SP systems work together during natural motion to collectively assure stability of the desired visual target image. When VOR performance fails, and image stability is lost during head movements, visual-vestibular interaction is employed to adaptively modify and improve the VOR.