Functional localization in the rabbit's cerebellar flocculus determined in relationship with eye movements.

In alert albino rabbits, the cerebellar flocculus was mapped for the effect of its local stimulation upon eye movements. Stimulation through a glass pipette electrode placed in a relatively rostral area induced abduction of the ipsilateral eye. That in a relatively caudal area resulted in a downward movement of the ipsilateral eye, accompanied by an upward movement of the contralateral eye. Intorsion of the contralateral eye was also evoked from a relatively dorsal area. These results indicate that Purkinje cells connected with different components of the vestibulo-ocular reflex arc have a differential localization within the flocculus.