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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation
Published on: March 25, 2011
Neural control of three-dimensional eye and head movements
J D Crawford1, J C Martinez-Trujillo, E M Klier
1York Center for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada. jdc@yorku.ca
Abstract:
Although the eyes and head can potentially rotate about any three-dimensional axis during orienting gaze shifts, behavioral recordings have shown that certain lawful strategies--such as Listing's law and Donders' law--determine which axis is used for a particular sensory input. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the neuromuscular mechanisms for these laws, the neural mechanisms that control three-dimensional head posture, and the neural mechanisms that coordinate three-dimensional eye orientation with head motion. Finally, we consider how the brain copes with the perceptual consequences of these motor acts.
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