MONOCULAR AND BINOCULAR CONTROL OF HORIZONTAL OPTOKINETIC NYSTAGMUS IN CATS AND RABBITS

Compared electrooculographically recorded optokinetic nystagmus responses under conditions of monocular and binocular stimulation in 7 mature cats and 8 mature albino rabbits. Measuring beats of nystagmus/min, it was found that rabbits did not display reliable nystagmus under monocular viewing conditions when the visual field was moving in a nasal-to-temporal direction with respect to the viewing eye, but movement in the opposite direction elicited nystagmus indistinguishable from that elicited by binocular stimulation. The cats' responses were reduced under all monocular viewing conditions, but in contrast to the rabbits, the cats reliably displayed nystagmus responses in both directions under monocular viewing conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.