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Stopping smooth pursuit.

Marcus Missal¹, Stephen J Heinen²

¹Institute of Neuroscience (IONS), Cognition and Systems (COSY), Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium marcus.missal@uclouvain.be.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences

|March 1, 2017

Summary

Stopping smooth pursuit eye movements, crucial for clear vision, is not passive. This study explores the neural control of stopping smooth pursuit, highlighting the role of brainstem omnipause neurons and frontal cortex supplementary eye fields.

Keywords:

inhibition omnipause neurons prediction smooth pursuit supplementary eye fields

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Motor Control

Background:

Smooth pursuit eye movements stabilize gaze on moving objects, preventing blurred vision.
Neural mechanisms for initiating smooth pursuit are well-studied, but stopping these movements remain less understood.
Stopping smooth pursuit is an active process influenced by predictive mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural control mechanisms underlying the cessation of smooth pursuit eye movements.
To explore the potential role of brainstem omnipause neurons in smooth pursuit stopping.
To discuss the contribution of frontal cortex supplementary eye fields to this process.

Main Methods:

Analysis of eye movements following interruption of visual motion.
Review of behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for active pursuit stopping.
Discussion of proposed neural circuitries involved in stopping smooth pursuit.

Main Results:

Smooth pursuit stopping involves an active neural process, not merely passive decay of eye velocity.
Omnipause neurons in the brainstem are suggested as key players in inhibiting pursuit.
Supplementary eye fields in the frontal cortex are implicated in the control of pursuit termination.

Conclusions:

The stopping of smooth pursuit eye movements is an actively controlled neural behavior.
Omnipause neurons and supplementary eye fields are critical components of the neural circuitry for smooth pursuit cessation.
Further research into these mechanisms can enhance our understanding of visual-motor control and neurological disorders affecting eye movements.