Horizontal optokinetic nystagmus in the pigeon during static tilts in the frontal plane

The influence of lateral static tilts of the body (30 degrees, 45 degrees) on horizontal optokinetic nystagmus induced by rotation of an optokinetic cylinder at a constant rate (16 degrees, 30 degrees/sec) was investigated in 16 pigeons. The experiments made it possible to identify a statistically significant tilt-dependent asymmetry of the tonic otolithic influences on the optokinetic system which consisted in a marked inhibitory effect on horizontal optokinetic nystagmus of right-sided tilts by contrast with left-sided. The separate recording of oculomotor responses of the right and left eyes showed that the temporonasal-nasotemporal (TN-NT) asymmetry of horizontal optokinetic nystagmus which exists in the norm in the pigeon is maintained under the conditions of stationary lateral tilts of the body for the eye which is in the upper position, and is replaced by a symmetrical pattern for the eye which is in the lower position. The results make it possible to hold the view that the mechanism of TN-NT asymmetry is controlled by otolithic inputs, and that its function may be substantially modified under the influence of the reorientation of the otolithic membranes in the gravitational field.