WWW.JNEUROSCI.ORG
-
The Journal of Neuroscience Introducing ALZET?ew Model 2006 Pump
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
-


HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wallman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Pettigrew, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wallman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Pettigrew, J. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 5, 1418-1428, Copyright © 1985 by Society for Neuroscience

ARTICLE

Conjugate and disjunctive saccades in two avian species with contrasting oculomotor strategies

J Wallman and JD Pettigrew

We have recorded with the magnetic search coil method the spontaneous saccades of two species of predatory birds, which differ in the relative importance of panoramic and foveal vision. The little eagle (Haliaetus morphnoides) hunts from great heights and has no predators, whereas the tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) hunts from perches near the ground, is preyed upon, and frequently adopts an immobile camouflage posture. We find that both birds spend most of the time with their eyes confined to a small region of gaze, the primary position of gaze; in this position, the visual axes are much more diverged in the frogmouth than in the eagle, thereby giving it a larger total field of view at the expense of its binocular field. Both species, however, can align their visual axes, thereby gaining a binocular view of targets in the frontal visual field. The eagle makes saccades 10 times as frequently as the frogmouth, and in most of its saccades the eyes move in the same direction, although the eye movements are generally not conjugate; in most frogmouth saccades, on the other hand, the eyes move in opposite directions. We discuss these phenomena in terms of their saccadic mechanisms and their possible adaptiveness. We also report two incidental observations: in certain circumstances, the frogmouth shows no sign of having a vestibulo-ocular reflex, and the eagle, although the quintessential foveate animal, shows extreme directional asymmetries of monocularly evoked optokinetic nystagmus.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
A. Haque and J. D. Dickman
Vestibular Gaze Stabilization: Different Behavioral Strategies for Arboreal and Terrestrial Avians
J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2005; 93(3): 1165 - 1173.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
L. Tommasi and R. J. Andrew
The use of viewing posture to control visual processing by lateralised mechanisms
J. Exp. Biol., May 15, 2002; 205(10): 1451 - 1457.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


-

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help
-
Copyright 2008 by Society for Neuroscience ONLINE ISSN: 1529-2401
-