[Fixation reflex and coordination of eye and head movements (author's transl)]

After a brief review of the functional aspects of gaze displacements in animal and man, results of a study of control and coordination of eye and head movements in cat are presented. This animal uses two different visual searching strategies according to the eccentricity of the target. The command of each of these strategies is issued from two distinct zones of the superior colliculus. Eye and head, in each case, are differently coordinated by the vestibulo-ocular reflex. The participation of cortical centers to the elaboration of the fixation reflex is also discussed. The clinical importance of these mechanisms are stressed.