Fig. 10: Subcortical pathways controlling gaze-stabilization.

a A schematic showing the flow of visual (from the eye) and vestibular (from the labyrinth) information when producing gaze-stabilizing eye movements (shadowed in yellow) and the likely pathway underlying goal-oriented eye movements (shadowed in red). Brain areas that process only visual information are highlighted in orange, vestibular in blue, and visuovestibular in green. Note that, as in mammals, visual information already impacts vestibular inputs as soon as they enter the brain, and that all visuovestibular regions can be activated by visual or vestibular inputs independently. The motoneurons of the oculomotor nuclei initiate the VOR/OKR through recruiting the relevant extraocular muscles during the final step of the sensorimotor integration. b A phylogenetic tree featuring the seven main classes of vertebrates and the eye movements available to them^58,66. Note that this diagram denotes the presence of an eye movement type within each class, meaning that not all member species are necessarily in possession of it. Smooth-tracking eye movements (in red) are present only in primates. The branches of the tree are not to scale. Abbreviations: PT pretectum, OT optic tectum nMLF nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus, VA vestibular area.