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A non-linear model of the neural integrator in oculomotor control
Wilbur W P Chan1, Henrietta L Galiana
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada. wilbur.chan@mcgill.ca
Abstract:
A Neural Integrator (NI) is presumed to exist in the oculomotor system to assist in numerous tasks such as maintaining gaze on imaginary targets in the dark. It has been widely accepted that the NI acts as a 'perfect' integrator even in the dark with time constants as large as 50s. However, the NI time constant has been found to be much less than ideal and its value can also be dependent on context. In this paper, a nonlinear feedback model is postulated to model the context-dependent properties of NI and its performance is compared to a linear feedback model.
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