PURPOSE: Human ocular saccades are not perfectly yoked; the origin of this disconjugacy (muscular versus central) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to test a cortical influence on the binocular coordination of saccades. METHODS: The authors used a gap paradigm to elicit vertical or horizontal saccades of 10 degrees , randomly interleaved; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied on the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) 100 ms after the target onset. RESULTS: TMS of the left or right PPC increased (i) the misalignment of the eyes during the presaccadic fixation period; (ii) the size difference between the saccades of the eyes, called disconjugacy; the increase of disconjugacy was significant for rightward and downward saccades after TMS of the right PPC and for downward saccades after TMS of the left PPC. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that the PPC is actively involved in maintaining eye alignment during fixation and in the control of binocular coordination of saccades.
PURPOSE:Human ocular saccades are not perfectly yoked; the origin of this disconjugacy (muscular versus central) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to test a cortical influence on the binocular coordination of saccades. METHODS: The authors used a gap paradigm to elicit vertical or horizontal saccades of 10 degrees , randomly interleaved; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied on the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) 100 ms after the target onset. RESULTS: TMS of the left or right PPC increased (i) the misalignment of the eyes during the presaccadic fixation period; (ii) the size difference between the saccades of the eyes, called disconjugacy; the increase of disconjugacy was significant for rightward and downward saccades after TMS of the right PPC and for downward saccades after TMS of the left PPC. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that the PPC is actively involved in maintaining eye alignment during fixation and in the control of binocular coordination of saccades.
Authors: Christy L Willoughby; Stephen P Christiansen; Michael J Mustari; Linda K McLoon Journal: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Date: 2012-01-05 Impact factor: 4.799