The accessory optic system in pigeons: receptive field properties of identified neurons

Visual receptive fields of neurons in the nucleus of the basal optic root were investigated in pigeons. Their projections could be traced to vestibulo-cerebellum and oculomotor complex by means of antidromic activation. Units in that nucleus showed large peripheral receptive fields and appeared highly sensitive to moving targets, with the majority displaying axis specificity and direction selectivity. The results seem consistent with the proposed role of the accessory optic system in oculomotor reflexes.