Convergence of sensory inputs on cortical area MSTI during smooth pursuit
Convergence of sensory inputs on cortical area MSTI during smooth pursuit
Pursuit has quite different dynamic characteristics when compared with optokinetic movements, and neuronal pathways seem to be mostly separate. Anatomical pathways are separate from those that transmit signals for compensatory movements. Examples of pursuit cells in the middle superior temporal area with clear eye and head velocity signals are described in this chapter. The primate cortical visual areas named MT and MST have received considerable attention since they appear to represent the upper stages of a tightly linked and hierarchically organized pathway for the analysis of visual motion. In light of these studies, the chapter re-examines the question of how cortically extracted visual motion information is utilized for control of voluntary pursuit of moving visual targets. The results indicate that information carried by a combination of inputs, including at least visualmotion, eye movement, and head movement, converges in a specific subregion of MST to produce neurones capable of encoding the motion of objects in extrapersonal space. The output of these neurones provides a representation of stimulus motion that could be used for a variety or perceptual and motor processes, including the control of smooth-pursuit eye movements.
Keywords: optokinetic movements, eye movements, visual responses, space localization, spatial control, eye movement
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