The mechanism of oscillopsia and its suppression

We studied the mechanisms of oscillopsia suppression in subjects with infantile nystagmus syndrome, fusion maldevelopment nystagmus syndrome, and acquired nystagmus (AN). Hypothetical possibilities for perceptual stability were the following: (1) epochs of clear and stable vision during foveation periods of nystagmus waveforms; (2) cancellation by efference copy of motor output; (3) a combination of the effects of both foveation-period stability and efference-copy cancellation; or (4) elevated motion-detection threshold and vision suppression. Observations, studies, and models of oscillopsia suppression allowed comparison of these possibilities. Data from individual subjects supported some of the putative hypotheses. However, only one hypothesis remained viable that could explain how all subjects maintained perceptual stability despite their different nystagmus types, waveforms, and variability. Robust suppression of oscillopsia was only possible using efference-copy feedback of the motor output containing these specific nystagmus signals to cancel that motion from the retinal error signals. In cases of AN, where oscillopsia could not be suppressed, the deficit was postulated to interfere with or lie outside of this efference-copy feedback loop.