Visually mediated eye movements regulate the capture of optic flow in self-motion perception

2009 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juno Kim ◽  
Stephen Palmisano
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Self Motion

Optokinetic Eye Movements Elicited by Radial Optic Flow in the Macaque Monkey

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 1461-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Lappe ◽  
Martin Pekel ◽  
Klaus-Peter Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Macaque Monkey ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Slow Phase ◽  
Eye Position ◽  
Self Motion

Lappe, Markus, Martin Pekel, and Klaus-Peter Hoffmann. Optokinetic eye movements elicited by radial optic flow in the macaque monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 1461–1480, 1998. We recorded spontaneous eye movements elicited by radial optic flow in three macaque monkeys using the scleral search coil technique. Computer-generated stimuli simulated forward or backward motion of the monkey with respect to a number of small illuminated dots arranged on a virtual ground plane. We wanted to see whether optokinetic eye movements are induced by radial optic flow stimuli that simulate self-movement, quantify their parameters, and consider their effects on the processing of optic flow. A regular pattern of interchanging fast and slow eye movements with a frequency of 2 Hz was observed. When we shifted the horizontal position of the focus of expansion (FOE) during simulated forward motion (expansional optic flow), median horizontal eye position also shifted in the same direction but only by a smaller amount; for simulated backward motion (contractional optic flow), median eye position shifted in the opposite direction. We relate this to a change in Schlagfeld typically observed in optokinetic nystagmus. Direction and speed of slow phase eye movements were compared with the local flow field motion in gaze direction (the foveal flow). Eye movement direction matched well the foveal motion. Small systematic deviations could be attributed to an integration of the global motion pattern. Eye speed on average did not match foveal stimulus speed, as the median gain was only ∼0.5–0.6. The gain was always lower for expanding than for contracting stimuli. We analyzed the time course of the eye movement immediately after each saccade. We found remarkable differences in the initial development of gain and directional following for expansion and contraction. For expansion, directional following and gain were initially poor and strongly influenced by the ongoing eye movement before the saccade. This was not the case for contraction. These differences also can be linked to properties of the optokinetic system. We conclude that optokinetic eye movements can be elicited by radial optic flow fields simulating self-motion. These eye movements are linked to the parafoveal flow field, i.e., the motion in the direction of gaze. In the retinal projection of the optic flow, such eye movements superimpose retinal slip. This results in complex retinal motion patterns, especially because the gain of the eye movement is small and variable. This observation has special relevance for mechanisms that determine self-motion from retinal flow fields. It is necessary to consider the influence of eye movements in optic flow analysis, but our results suggest that direction and speed of an eye movement should be treated differently.

Velocity Storage Contribution to Vestibular Self-Motion Perception in Healthy Human Subjects

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bertolini ◽  
S. Ramat ◽  
J. Laurens ◽  
C. J. Bockisch ◽  
S. Marti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Angular Velocity ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Rotational Velocity ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Velocity Storage ◽  
Slow Phase ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Self Motion

Self-motion perception after a sudden stop from a sustained rotation in darkness lasts approximately as long as reflexive eye movements. We hypothesized that, after an angular velocity step, self-motion perception and reflexive eye movements are driven by the same vestibular pathways. In 16 healthy subjects (25–71 years of age), perceived rotational velocity (PRV) and the vestibulo-ocular reflex (rVOR) after sudden decelerations (90°/s2) from constant-velocity (90°/s) earth-vertical axis rotations were simultaneously measured (PRV reported by hand-lever turning; rVOR recorded by search coils). Subjects were upright (yaw) or 90° left-ear-down (pitch). After both yaw and pitch decelerations, PRV rose rapidly and showed a plateau before decaying. In contrast, slow-phase eye velocity (SPV) decayed immediately after the initial increase. SPV and PRV were fitted with the sum of two exponentials: one time constant accounting for the semicircular canal (SCC) dynamics and one time constant accounting for a central process, known as velocity storage mechanism (VSM). Parameters were constrained by requiring equal SCC time constant and VSM time constant for SPV and PRV. The gains weighting the two exponential functions were free to change. SPV were accurately fitted (variance-accounted-for: 0.85 ± 0.10) and PRV (variance-accounted-for: 0.86 ± 0.07), showing that SPV and PRV curve differences can be explained by a greater relative weight of VSM in PRV compared with SPV (twofold for yaw, threefold for pitch). These results support our hypothesis that self-motion perception after angular velocity steps is be driven by the same central vestibular processes as reflexive eye movements and that no additional mechanisms are required to explain the perceptual dynamics.

Drifting while stepping in place in old adults: Association of self-motion perception with reference frame reliance and ground optic flow sensitivity

Neuroscience ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 347 ◽  
pp. 134-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine P. Agathos ◽  
Delphine Bernardin ◽  
Konogan Baranton ◽  
Christine Assaiante ◽  
Brice Isableu
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Flow Sensitivity ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Stepping In Place

scholarly journals Eye Movements in Darkness Modulate Self-Motion Perception

eNeuro ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. ENEURO.0211-16.2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar Adrianus H. Clemens ◽  
Luc P. J. Selen ◽  
Antonella Pomante ◽  
Paul R. MacNeilage ◽  
W. Pieter Medendorp
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Self Motion

scholarly journals Simulated Viewpoint Jitter Shakes Sensory Conflict Accounts of Vection

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Palmisano ◽  
Juno Kim ◽  
Robert Allison ◽  
Frederick Bonato
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Motion Sickness ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Sensory Interaction ◽  
Sensory Conflict ◽  
And Control ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
The Way

AbstractSensory conflict has been used to explain the way we perceive and control our self-motion, as well as the aetiology of motion sickness. However, recent research on simulated viewpoint jitter provides a strong challenge to one core prediction of these theories — that increasing sensory conflict should always impair visually induced illusions of self-motion (known as vection). These studies show that jittering self-motion displays (thought to generate significant and sustained visual–vestibular conflict) actually induce superior vection to comparable non-jittering displays (thought to generate only minimal/transient sensory conflict). Here we review viewpoint jitter effects on vection, postural sway, eye-movements and motion sickness, and relate them to recent behavioural and neurophysiological findings. It is shown that jitter research provides important insights into the role that sensory interaction plays in self-motion perception.

scholarly journals Retinal stabilization reveals limited influence of extraretinal signals on heading tuning in the medial superior temporal area

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler S Manning ◽  
Kenneth H Britten
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Efference Copy ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Medial Superior Temporal ◽  
Heading Direction ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Self Motion

AbstractHeading perception in primates depends heavily on visual optic-flow cues. Yet during self-motion, heading percepts remain stable even though smooth-pursuit eye movements often distort optic flow. Electrophysiological studies have identified visual areas in monkey cortex, including the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd), that signal the true heading direction during pursuit. According to theoretical work, self-motion can be represented accurately by compensating for these distortions in two ways: via retinal mechanisms or via extraretinal efference-copy signals, which predict the sensory consequences of movement. Psychophysical evidence strongly supports the efference-copy hypothesis, but physiological evidence remains inconclusive. Neurons that signal the true heading direction during pursuit are found in visual areas of monkey cortex, including the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd). Here we measured heading tuning in MSTd using a novel stimulus paradigm, in which we stabilize the optic-flow stimulus on the retina during pursuit. This approach isolates the effects on neuronal heading preferences of extraretinal signals, which remain active while the retinal stimulus is prevented from changing. Our results demonstrate a significant but small influence of extraretinal signals on the preferred heading directions of MSTd neurons. Under our stimulus conditions, which are rich in retinal cues, we find that retinal mechanisms dominate physiological corrections for pursuit eye movements, suggesting that extraretinal cues, such as predictive efference-copy mechanisms, have a limited role under naturalistic conditions.Significance StatementSensory systems discount stimulation caused by the animal’s own behavior. For example, eye movements cause irrelevant retinal signals that could interfere with motion perception. The visual system compensates for such self-generated motion, but how this happens is unclear. Two theoretical possibilities are a purely visual calculation or one using an internal signal of eye movements to compensate for their effects. Such a signal can be isolated by experimentally stabilizing the image on a moving retina, but this approach has never been adopted to study motion physiology. Using this method, we find that eye-movement signals have little influence on neural activity in visual cortex, while feed-forward visual calculation has a strong effect and is likely important under real-world conditions.

scholarly journals Activity Strength within Optic Flow-Sensitive Cortical Regions Is Associated with Visual Path Integration Accuracy in Aged Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Lauren Zajac ◽  
Ronald Killiany
Keyword(s):  
Motion Perception ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Path Integration ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Self Motion

Spatial navigation is a cognitive skill fundamental to successful interaction with our environment, and aging is associated with weaknesses in this skill. Identifying mechanisms underlying individual differences in navigation ability in aged adults is important to understanding these age-related weaknesses. One understudied factor involved in spatial navigation is self-motion perception. Important to self-motion perception is optic flow–the global pattern of visual motion experienced while moving through our environment. A set of optic flow-sensitive (OF-sensitive) cortical regions was defined in a group of young (n = 29) and aged (n = 22) adults. Brain activity was measured in this set of OF-sensitive regions and control regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants performed visual path integration (VPI) and turn counting (TC) tasks. Aged adults had stronger activity in RMT+ during both tasks compared to young adults. Stronger activity in the OF-sensitive regions LMT+ and RpVIP during VPI, not TC, was associated with greater VPI accuracy in aged adults. The activity strength in these two OF-sensitive regions measured during VPI explained 42% of the variance in VPI task performance in aged adults. The results of this study provide novel support for global motion processing as a mechanism underlying visual path integration in normal aging.

Editorial: Human motion perception, eye movements, and orientation in visual space

2000 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Groner ◽  
Marina T. Groner ◽  
Kazuo Koga
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Human Motion
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