Smooth pursuit eye movements work in combination with other eye movement systems to ensure stable vision in a non-stationary world. Pursuit eye movements are tracking eye movements that allow primates to keep moving objects stable on the retina for improved visual processing. Although the basic task of the pursuit system is to perform a sensorimotor transformation that generates an eye velocity that matches target velocity, the relationship between target motion and subsequent eye movement is not fixed. This thesis investigates the neural signals that modulate the sensorimotor transformation for pursuit, based both on current context and on previous experience. The amplitude of the pursuit response to a brief perturbation of target velocity is larger if the perturbation is presented during ongoing pursuit vs. during fixation. To understand the neural signals used by the pursuit system to control the gain of the response to target perturbations under different initial conditions and thereby constrain the possible sites and mechanisms of context-dependent pursuit modulation, I used passive whole body rotation to distinguish between eye velocity (eye in head) and gaze velocity (eye in world) signals. Adaptive modification of the vestibulo-ocular reflex allowed a further distinction between gaze velocity per se and the visually-driven component of gaze velocity. The results demonstrate that signals intermediate to gaze velocity and visually-driven gaze velocity control context-dependent modulation of pursuit. In a separate set of experiments, I investigated the signals that modulate the sensorimotor transformation for pursuit based on experience. Specifically, I used microstimulation in cortical area MT to test the hypothesis that visual motion signals represented there could provide instructive signals for pursuit learning. The results demonstrate that activity in MT, consistently associated with pursuit in a given direction, is sufficient to drive learning for pursuit. Additional experiments stabilizing the target on the retina and using motion of a visual background to mimic MT stimulation demonstrate that visual signals in general, including target motion relative to the eye, and activity in MT, are provide powerful instructive signals for pursuit learning under physiological conditions.

The Neurology of Eye Movements provides clinicians with a synthesis of current scientific information that can be applied to the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of ocular motility. Basic scientists will also benefit from descriptions of how data from anatomical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, and imaging studies can be directly applied to the study of disease. By critically reviewing such basic studies, the authors build a conceptual framework that can be applied to the interpretation of abnormal ocular motor behavior at the bedside. These syntheses are summarized in displays, new figures, schematics and tables. Early chapters discuss the visual need and neural basis for each functional class of eye movements. Two large chapters deal with the evaluation of double vision and systematically evaluate how many disorders of the central nervous system affect eye movements. This edition has been extensively rewritten, and contains many new figures and an up-to-date section on the treatment of abnormal eye movements such as nystagmus. A major innovation has been the development of an option to read the book from a compact disc, make use of hypertext links (which bridge basic science to clinical issues), and view the major disorders of eye movements in over 60 video clips. This volume will provide pertinent, up-to-date information to neurologists, neuroscientists, ophthalmologists, visual scientists, otalaryngologists, optometrists, biomedical engineers, and psychologists.

Conn's Translational Neuroscience provides a comprehensive overview reflecting the depth and breadth of the field of translational neuroscience, with input from a distinguished panel of basic and clinical investigators. Progress has continued in understanding the brain at the molecular, anatomic, and physiological levels in the years following the 'Decade of the Brain,' with the results providing insight into the underlying basis of many neurological disease processes. This book alternates scientific and clinical chapters that explain the basic science underlying neurological processes and then relates that science to the understanding of neurological disorders and their treatment. Chapters cover disorders of the spinal cord, neuronal migration, the autonomic nervous system, the limbic system, ocular motility, and the basal ganglia, as well as demyelinating disorders, stroke, dementia and abnormalities of cognition, congenital chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, Parkinson's disease, nerve trauma, peripheral neuropathy, aphasias, sleep disorders, and myasthenia gravis. In addition to concise summaries of the most recent biochemical, physiological, anatomical, and behavioral advances, the chapters summarize current findings on neuronal gene expression and protein synthesis at the molecular level. Authoritative and comprehensive, Conn's Translational Neuroscience provides a fully up-to-date and readily accessible guide to brain functions at the cellular and molecular level, as well as a clear demonstration of their emerging diagnostic and therapeutic importance. - Provides a fully up-to-date and readily accessible guide to brain functions at the cellular and molecular level, while also clearly demonstrating their emerging diagnostic and therapeutic importance - Features contributions from leading global basic and clinical investigators in the field - Provides a great resource for researchers and practitioners interested in the basic science underlying neurological processes - Relates and translates the current science to the understanding of neurological disorders and their treatment

This edited volume presents fundamentals as well as applications of oculomotor methods in industrial and clinical settings. The topical spectrum covers 1.) basics and background material, 2.) methods such as recording techniques, markov models, Lévy flights, pupillometry and many more, as well as 3.) a broad range of applications in clinical and industrial settings. The target audience primarily comprises research experts and practitioners, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

Progress in Brain Research is the most acclaimed and accomplished series in neuroscience, firmly established as an extensive documentation of the advances in contemporary brain research. The volumes, some of which are derived from important international symposia, contain authoritative reviews and original articles by invited specialists. The rigorous editing of the volumes assures that they will appeal to all laboratory and clinical brain research workers in the various disciplines: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroendocrinology, neuropathology, basic neurology, biological psychiatry, and the behavioral sciences. This volume, The Cerebellum and Memory Formation: Structure, Computation and Function, covers topics including feedback control of cerebellar learning; cortico-cerebellar organization and skill acquisition; cerebellar plasticity and learning in the oculomotor system, and more. - Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation, and provide their views and perspectives for future research - The volume reflects current thinking about the ways in which the cerebellum can engage in learning, and the contributors come from a variety of research fields - The chapters express perspectives from different levels of analysis that range from molecular and cellular mechanisms through to long-range systems that allow the cerebellum to communicate with other brain areas