title: Evidence for separate eye and head position command signals in unrestrained rats.
abstract: Compensatory horizontal eye-head movements of unrestrained rats were recorded with search coils in a magnetic field in response to combined optokinetic plus vestibular sinusoidal oscillations (0.05-1 Hz). The velocity contribution of compensatory slow head movements for image stabilization was relatively small (about 30%). The beating field of ocular nystagmus shifted during each half cycle in quick phase direction. These changes in eye position were counterbalanced by concomitant changes in head position. As a result, the orientation of gaze position was kept straight ahead with respect to the body length axis. These results imply independent and task-specific recruitment orders for the ocular and neck motor system.
authors.affiliation: Physiologisches Institut der Universität München, FRG.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dieringer
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006257:Head / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology