The role of extraocular proprioception in vestibulo-ocular reflex of rabbits

This study was undertaken to elucidate the role of extraocular proprioception in the vestibulo-ocular reflex, using pigmented rabbits. The presence of extraocular afferent projections in the ophthalmic branch (OB) of the trigeminal nerve was confirmed by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. The OB of the left trigeminal nerve was transected at its junction with the trigeminal ganglion. Vestibular nystagmus was produced by rotating the animal clockwise and counter-clockwise in the horizontal plane in a dark room. The number and direction of the quick phase of nystagmus induced by rotation in the eye on the operated side were not different from those in the eye on the unoperated side or from those before the transection. However, the eye on the operated side moved slowly and unstably without directional preponderance during and after rotation at an angular velocity of 30 degrees/sec. In the sham-operated and unoperated groups, when the angular velocity was increased to over 90 degrees/sec, the eyes deviated in the anticompensatory direction to the head movement (the same direction as the head movement) during and immediately after the rotation. At an angular velocity of over 30 degrees/sec, however, the eye on the operated side exhibited anticompensatory response more frequently and markedly than that on the unoperated side. These results suggest that extraocular proprioception is important for fixation of the eye position in spacial relation to the head, and that loss of the sensation readily induces anticompensatory oculomotor response to head movement.