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NIAID director Fauci discusses moving forward in AIDS fight

April 21, 2017

The researchers examined what information controls the optokinetic nystagmus in the first weeks after birth. During the first two weeks, the reflex is controlled by signals from the retina, which are transmitted to two nuclei in the midbrain. The neocortex then adds its information and takes over during the first months of life. The optokinetic reflex, which was studied by the researchers also at the behavioural level, is almost identical under the control of the midbrain and the neocortex. It occurs, for example, when watching a moving scene. First the eyes follow the passing scene, then they move quickly in the opposite direction back to their original position. On this reflex, monkeys and humans build their slow eye tracking movements with which they keep "an eye" on moving objects.

Detecting maldevelopments in the visual system at an early stage

The optokinetic nystagmus changes if the visual system does not develop normally. Lens aberrations, corneal opacity and strabismus affect the reflex. "These findings from research with primates are important for recognizing and treating maldevelopments in the visual system of infants and young children at an early stage" explains Distler-Hoffmann.

Source: Ruhr-University Bochum