| Abstract: | Eye movements evoked by local electrical stimulation of the dorsal nucleus of the lateral geniculate body were analyzed after removal of the visual cortex and in intact animals during trials on awake cats. No significant difference was observed between the eye movement patterns of the two animal groups evoked by electrical stimulation. These movements could be classed into three main groups: those unassociated with the starting position of the eyes in orbit (or unidirectional movements), goal-directed, and centered movements, with direction depending on the initial position of the eyes in their orbits. Our findings indicate that the cortical visual areas are neither the principal nor an indispensable link in the chain for transmitting signals evoked by (electrically) stimulating the geniculate body from the cortical structures of the direct visual pathway towards the operative links of the oculomotor system. Potential pathways for conducting information from the dorsal nucleus of the lateral geniculate body to oculomotor system structures are discussed.I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 164–170, March–April, 1987. |
