Abstract
Purpose::
Independent component analysis (ICA) has been used to decompose ensembles of vergence eye movements into their underlying control components. Here we apply this approach to movements of the left and right eyes to determine if these control components are monocular or binocular in nature.
Methods::
Using a commercial eye movement monitor (Skalor), left and right eye movements were recorded in response to a step change in disparity stimulation. Since the majority of vergence eye movements contain saccades, it was necessary to develop an algorithm to remove saccades from individual left and right vergence eye movements
Results::
Applying ICA decomposition to saccade-free left and right vergence eye movements led to successful identification of the control components that drive each eye. Results showed that the transient components could be quite different in the two eyes while the sustained components were generally similar.
Conclusions::
Results indicate that a monocular open-loop transient component is separately generated for each eye while the feedback-controlled sustained component was developed binocularly. Ongoing studies will investigate the role of accommodative vergence in driving it the two eyes during a normal vergence response to a binocular stimulus.
Keywords: eye movements • vergence • ocular motor control