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- Title
Role of the cervico-ocular reflex in the flying pigeon: Interactions with the optokinetic reflex.
- Authors
M. MAURICE
- Abstract
We studied the cervico-ocular reflex (COR) alone and in combination with the optokinetic (OKN) reflex in head-fixed pigeons. We analyzed these responses in two behavioral conditions: (1) animals were hung in a harness (resting condition); and (2) animals were additionally submitted to a frontal airflow that provoked a flight posture (flying condition). In both conditions, cervical stimulation provoked a slow phase of very low gain (around 0.05) in the opposite direction to that of the stimulation and fast phases triggered near the headbody alignment in the same direction as the stimulation. The slow phase showed a phase lag of 20 deg at 0.5 Hz. The gain of the slow phase was not modified by the velocity, amplitude, or frequency of the stimuli. This gain was not changed by the presence of a fixed visual surround. When cervical stimuli (0.050.5 Hz) were added to an optokinetic stimulation (30 deg/s) in the resting condition, the slow phase velocity (SPV) of the optokinetic reflex was modulated with a time course close to that produced by the cervico-ocular reflex alone. The SPV was alternately increased and decreased round the SPV level corresponding to the steady-state OKN. In the flying condition, optokinetic-cervical stimulation provoked an eye beating field and a strong SPV modulation synchronized with the position of the cervical stimulation. The number of nystagmic beats (OKN) and the amplitude and velocity of the fast phases were modulated in correlation with the SPV.
- Subjects
PIGEONS; ANIMALS; COLUMBIFORMES; ZOOLOGY
- Publication
Visual Neuroscience, 2004, Vol 21, Issue 2, p167
- ISSN
0952-5238
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/s0952523804042087