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Dysfunctional mode switching between fixation and saccades: collaborative insights into two unusual clinical disorders

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Abstract

Voluntary rapid eye movements (saccades) redirect the fovea toward objects of visual interest. The saccadic system can be considered as a dual-mode system: in one mode the eye is fixating, in the other it is making a saccade. In this review, we consider two examples of dysfunctional saccades, interrupted saccades in late-onset Tay-Sachs disease and gaze-position dependent opsoclonus after concussion, which fail to properly shift between fixation and saccade modes. Insights and benefits gained from bi-directional collaborative exchange between clinical and basic scientists are emphasized. In the case of interrupted saccades, existing mathematical models were sufficiently detailed to provide support for the cause of interrupted saccades. In the case of gaze-position dependent opsoclonus, existing models could not explain the behavior, but further development provided a reasonable hypothesis for the mechanism underlying the behavior. Collaboration between clinical and basic science is a rich source of progress for developing biologically plausible models and understanding neurological disease. Approaching a clinical problem with a specific hypothesis (model) in mind often prompts new experimental tests and provides insights into basic mechanisms.

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Funding

This research was supported, in part, by the Intramural Research Program of the NEI, NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neurology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Janet C. Rucker, John-Ross Rizzo & Todd E. Hudson

  2. Departments of Ophthalmology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Janet C. Rucker

  3. Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    John-Ross Rizzo & Todd E. Hudson

  4. Departments of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, New York, NY, USA

    John-Ross Rizzo

  5. Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, New York, NY, USA

    John-Ross Rizzo

  6. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

    Anja K. E. Horn & Jean A. Buettner-Ennever

  7. Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    R. John Leigh

  8. Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, NEI, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Lance M. Optican

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  1. Janet C. Rucker
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  2. John-Ross Rizzo
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  3. Todd E. Hudson
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  4. Anja K. E. Horn
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  5. Jean A. Buettner-Ennever
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Contributions

Conception and design of the studies reviewed: JCR, RJL, JAB, AH, JRR, TEH, LMO.

Acquisition and analysis of data: JCR, RJL, JAB, AH, JRR, TEH, LMO.

Substantial manuscript drafting: JCR, LMO.

Editing and approval of final manuscript: JCR, RJL, JAB, AH, JRR, TEH, LMO.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janet C. Rucker.

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Additional information

Action Editor: Aasef G. Shaikh

This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Vision and Action

Guest Editors: Aasef Shaikh and Jeffrey Shall

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Rucker, J.C., Rizzo, JR., Hudson, T.E. et al. Dysfunctional mode switching between fixation and saccades: collaborative insights into two unusual clinical disorders. J Comput Neurosci 49, 283–293 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10827-021-00785-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10827-021-00785-6

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