An integrative approach of the oculomotor system

Missal, Marcus [UCL]

Classically, the oculomotor system is divided into different subsystems each devoted to the control of a particular type of orienting movement, saccadic or smooth. However, this subdivision does not allow the study of higher order properties of the oculomotor system that emerge from the interaction of its parts. Therefore, the first aim of this thesis was to study new properties emerging from the integration of the saccadic and smooth pursuit subsystems (chapters II, III and IV). Similarly, the integration of retinal (position and velocity) and extra-retinal information (expectation, anticipation) was studied (chapters V,VI, VII, VIII). In the last part of this thesis, the important consequences that this integrative approach of the oculomotor system could have in the understanding of pathologies like Parkinson’s disease will be suggested (Perspectives).