The Parietal Eye of Lizards (Pogona vitticeps) Needs Light at a Wavelength Lower than 580 nm to Activate Light-Dependent Magnetoreception

In a previous study, the agamid lizard Pogona vitticeps was discovered to respond to an electromagnetic field (EMF) of extremely low frequency (6 and 8 Hz; peak magnetic and electric fields of 2.6 µT and 10 V/m, respectively). Furthermore, when the third eye of a lizard was covered, using a small round aluminum cap, the reaction to the EMF disappeared. These results suggested that the parietal eye has a role in light-dependent magnetoreception. However, the wavelength of light needed to activate light-dependent magnetoreception has not been identified and was thus explored in the present study. Lizards were randomly divided into control and EMF groups. In both groups, a small round light-absorbing filter was positioned on the back of the head of each lizard and blocked light of wavelengths lower than 580 nm. The EMF group was subjected to EMF exposure for half of the day, whereas the control group was not. No significant intergroup differences were discovered in the average ratio of the number of tail lifts on test days to the baseline value or average increase in the number of test-day tail lifts minus the baseline value (p = 0.41 and p = 0.67, respectively). Lizards with light-absorption filters that cut out light with wavelengths lower than 380 nm were found to respond to the EMF. Therefore, the lizards appeared to respond to light of certain wavelengths rather than the filters themselves. The results of these experiments suggest that light of wavelengths lower than 580 nm is required to activate light-dependent magnetoreception in the parietal eye of P. vitticeps.

Metabotropic signal transduction

“Metabotropic signal transduction” is the fourth chapter of the book Sensory Transduction and reviews the structure and function of G-protein cascades, which are essential components of transduction in many sensory receptors. G-protein cascades are found throughout the body and are responsible for mediating the effects of many hormones and synaptic transmitters in the CNS. The chapter describes the components of these cascades, including G-protein-coupled receptors, heterotrimeric G proteins, effector molecules, and second messengers including calcium. It then describes the special properties of channels gated by second messengers, including cyclic-nucleotide-gated channels, which were first discovered in sensory receptors. It concludes with a description of transduction in the lizard parietal eye, where a single cell type can respond to light in two different ways.

The Saccadic System

This chapter reviews the behavioral properties of rapid eye movements, ranging from quick phases of nystagmus to cognitively controlled saccades, and their neural substrate. Properties of various types of saccades are described, including express saccades, memory-guided saccades, antisaccades, and saccades during visual search and reading. Current concepts of regions important for the generation of saccades are reviewed, integrating results of functional imaging and electrophysiology, including brainstem burst neurons and omnipause neurons, the superior colliculus, frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, posterior parietal cortex, parietal eye field, thalamus, pulvinar, caudate, substantia nigra pars reticulata, subthalamic nucleus, cerebellar dorsal vermis, and fastigial nucleus. Saccade adaptation to novel visual demands is discussed, and the interaction between saccades and eyelid movements (blinks). Mathematical models of saccades are discussed. Clinical and laboratory evaluation of saccades and the pathophysiology of saccadic disorders, from slow saccades to opsoclonus, are reviewed.

The Neural Basis of Parallel Saccade Programming: An fMRI Study

The neural basis of parallel saccade programming was examined in an event-related fMRI study using a variation of the double-step saccade paradigm. Two double-step conditions were used: one enabled the second saccade to be partially programmed in parallel with the first saccade while in a second condition both saccades had to be prepared serially. The intersaccadic interval, observed in the parallel programming (PP) condition, was significantly reduced compared with latency in the serial programming (SP) condition and also to the latency of single saccades in control conditions. The fMRI analysis revealed greater activity (BOLD response) in the frontal and parietal eye fields for the PP condition compared with the SP double-step condition and when compared with the single-saccade control conditions. By contrast, activity in the supplementary eye fields was greater for the double-step condition than the single-step condition but did not distinguish between the PP and SP requirements. The role of the frontal eye fields in PP may be related to the advanced temporal preparation and increased salience of the second saccade goal that may mediate activity in other downstream structures, such as the superior colliculus. The parietal lobes may be involved in the preparation for spatial remapping, which is required in double-step conditions. The supplementary eye fields appear to have a more general role in planning saccade sequences that may be related to error monitoring and the control over the execution of the correct sequence of responses.

Cortical mechanisms for trans-saccadic memory and integration of multiple object features

Constructing an internal representation of the world from successive visual fixations, i.e. separated by saccadic eye movements, is known as trans-saccadic perception. Research on trans-saccadic perception (TSP) has been traditionally aimed at resolving the problems of memory capacity and visual integration across saccades. In this paper, we review this literature on TSP with a focus on research showing that egocentric measures of the saccadic eye movement can be used to integrate simple object features across saccades, and that the memory capacity for items retained across saccades, like visual working memory, is restricted to about three to four items. We also review recent transcranial magnetic stimulation experiments which suggest that the right parietal eye field and frontal eye fields play a key functional role in spatial updating of objects in TSP. We conclude by speculating on possible cortical mechanisms for governing egocentric spatial updating of multiple objects in TSP.