The need for an eclectic, rather than systems, approach to the study of the primate oculomotor system

The failure of the Systems Approach to add to our understanding of the primate oculomotor system is traced out from the introduction of this approach 30 years ago to recent developments which open up the possibility of studying, separately, stimulus and psychological inputs to the smooth pursuit subsystem. Prior failure to have a valid technique for separating complex central factors from underlying reflex mechanisms compromises current understanding of oculomotor performance and its putative neurological substrate.