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Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037
Submitted 1 October 2002; accepted in final form 1 April 2003
Previous research has demonstrated learning in the pursuit system, but it is unclear whether these effects are the result of changes in visual or motor processing. The ability to maintain smooth pursuit during the transient disappearance of a visual target provides a way to assess pursuit properties in the absence of visual inputs. To study the long-term effects of learning on nonvisual signals for pursuit, we used an operant conditioning procedure. By providing a reinforcing auditory stimulus during periods of accurate tracking, we increased the pursuit velocity gain during target blanking from 0.59 in the baseline session to 0.89 after 8 to 10 daily sessions of training. Learning also reduced the occurrence of saccades. The learned effects generalized to untrained target velocities and persisted in the presence of a textured visual background. In a yoked-control group, the reinforcer was independent of the subjects' responses, and the velocity gain remained unchanged (from 0.6 to 0.63, respectively, before and after training). In a control group that received no reinforcer, gain increased slightly after repetition of the task (from 0.63 to 0.71, respectively, before and after training). Using a model of pursuit, we show that these effects of learning can be simulated by modifying the gain of an extra-retinal signal. Our results demonstrate that learned contingencies can increase eye velocity in the absence of visual signals and support the view that pursuit is regulated by extra-retinal signals that can undergo long-term plasticity.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  G. R. Barnes and C.J.S. Collins Evidence for a Link Between the Extra-Retinal Component of Random-Onset Pursuit and the Anticipatory Pursuit of Predictable Object Motion J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2008; 100(2): 1135 - 1146. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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G. R. Barnes and C. J. S. Collins The Influence of Briefly Presented Randomized Target Motion on the Extraretinal Component of Ocular Pursuit J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2008; 99(2): 831 - 842. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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H. Tabata, K. Miura, and K. Kawano Trial-by-Trial Updating of the Gain in Preparation for Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Based on Past Experience in Humans J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2008; 99(2): 747 - 758. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 J.-J. Orban de Xivry and P. Lefevre Saccades and pursuit: two outcomes of a single sensorimotor process J. Physiol., October 1, 2007; 584(1): 11 - 23. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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J.-J. Orban de Xivry, S. J. Bennett, P. Lefevre, and G. R. Barnes Evidence for Synergy Between Saccades and Smooth Pursuit During Transient Target Disappearance J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2006; 95(1): 418 - 427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 M. Tanaka Involvement of the Central Thalamus in the Control of Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements J. Neurosci., June 22, 2005; 25(25): 5866 - 5876. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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S. J. Bennett and G. R. Barnes Predictive Smooth Ocular Pursuit During the Transient Disappearance of a Visual Target J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2004; 92(1): 578 - 590. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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R. J. Krauzlis Recasting the Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement System J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2004; 91(2): 591 - 603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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