Vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex control after supranuclear midbrain damage.

Abstract

The vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and its visual enhancement and cancellation were measured in patients with focal midbrain lesions that caused paralysis of upward, or upward and downward saccades. VOR gain was reduced in darkness during active vertical head pitch at frequencies from 0.25 to 2 Hz. Visual enhancement of the reflex by fixating a stationary target was subnormal upward and downward. Cancellation of the VOR was defective in both vertical directions during eye-head tracking. The VOR showed abnormal phase lead of the eyes in darkness, indicating that pretectal midbrain damage impairs the integration of eye velocity commands.