Predictive Smooth Ocular Pursuit During the Transient Disappearance of a Visual Target

Abstract

When a moving target disappears and there is a complete absence of visual feedback signals, eye velocity decays rapidly but often recovers to previous levels if there is an expectation the target will reappear further along its trajectory Given that eye velocity cannot be maintained under such circumstances, the anticipatory recovery may function to minimize the developing velocity error. When there is a change in target velocity during a transient, any recovery should ideally be scaled and hence predictive of the expected target velocity at reappearance. This study confirmed that subjects did not maintain eye velocity close to target velocity for the duration of the inter-stimulus interval (ISI). The majority of subjects exhibited an initial reduction in eye velocity followed by a scaled recovery prior to target reappearance. Eye velocity during the ISI was, therefore, predictive of the expected change in target velocity. These behavioral data were simulated using a model in which gain applied to the visuomotor drive is reduced after the loss of visual feedback and then modulated depending on subject’s expectation regarding the target’s future trajectory.