Oculomotor signals

Abstract

Drawing on electrophysiological data, and assuming that each neuronal population has similar discharge properties, Robinson proposes a series of differential equations to describe the activity of key populations of neurons that contribute to the control of eye movements. Rotations of the eyes are related to the activity of ocular motoneurons. Equations describe the vestibular, visual and saccadic inputs to the motoneurons. The quantitative properties of component neurons in the saccadic and vestibular systems are derived. Consideration is also given to the neural signals underlying combined eye-head movements, and the problems posed by neural noise. These simple differential equations are used in later chapters to build neuromimetic, mathematical models of the vestibular-optokinetic, saccadic, and pursuit systems.

Keywords: Burst neurons; Gaze Purkinje cells; Motoneurons; Pause neurons; Vestibular neurons.