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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Quantification of Visual Feature Selectivity of the Optokinetic Reflex in Mice
Published on: June 23, 2023
The optokinetic reaction in foveate and afoveate geckos
Olivia Masseck1, Beate Röll, Klaus-Peter Hoffmann
1International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
To investigate determinants of symmetry of the monocular horizontal optokinetic reaction (hOKR) in vertebrates, we performed behavioural studies in diurnal foveate, as well as nocturnal afoveate geckos. During binocular viewing hOKR gain was equal for movement to the left or right, during monocular stimulation, all afoveate geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris, Gekko gecko, Eublepharis macularius) and the foveate Lygodactylus spp. exclusively reacted to temporo-nasal stimulation with stabilising head movements whereas in Phelsuma madagascariensis a naso-temporal component of hOKR could be elicited albeit much weaker. Thus, neither the presence of a fovea nor lifestyle seems to be decisive for a symmetrical monocular hOKR.
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