Adaptation to Combined Reversal and Delay of Eyemovement-Retinal Feedback

A real-time computer system was used to calibrate eye position with respect to the position of an oscilloscope target, to yoke transduced eyemovement signals to the target, and to program variable feedback reversal and delays into the closed eyemovement-retinal interaction. S was required to compensate a sine-wave movement of the target by opposed movements of the eyes. Experimental transmission lags of 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2 sec. were introduced into the closed eyemovement-retinal yoke. Results indicated that both reversal and delay of eyemovement-retinal feedback degraded primary visual processes and their ocular control by pursuit, saccadic, and fixation motions, causing blurred, skittered, and unstable vision, and that there was limited adaptation to distortion of eyemovement-retinal feedback timing as well as to the spatial reversal of such feedback.