Control of Gaze in Salamanders
Control of Gaze in Salamanders
Studies of amphibian gaze control stems back to the 1930s and 1940s, when Birukow and Sperry investigated the optokinetic reflex in anurans and newts. In these initial researches, they discovered such fundamental properties as the unidirectionality of nystagmus under monocular vision. Birukow found the rostral in the frog Rana temporaria and presented indirect proof of the presence of an optokinetic after-reaction abolishing vestibular after-nystagmus. On the basis of optic nerve regeneration, Sperry found that retinal position and velocity signals rule the direction of gaze movements, even after functionally inadequate regeneration. Main visual relays in the control of optokinetic nystagmus are situated in the pretectum and the accessory optic nucleus. Vertical directional preferences in the accessory optic system and horizontal directional selectivity corroborate the lesion results.
Keywords: salamanders, gaze control, Birukow, Sperry, Rana temporaria
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
