Preferred gaze direction and the vergence system at rest]

In two experiments the effects of binocular vergence, head tilt, and prolonged gaze inclination on the preferred vertical gaze direction were studied. Concurrently, dark vergence was measured to test a hypothesis on the effect that binocular vergence has on the preferred vertical direction of gaze. The previously reported influence of observation distance on the preferred gaze inclination was replicated. When the head was tilted backward, the preferred gaze inclination was lower and the effect of observation distance was reduced; when the head was tilted forward, the preferred gaze inclination was higher and the effect of observation distance was increased. After prolonged upward or downward gaze inclination the preferred vertical gaze direction was shifted up or down, respectively, while the effect of observation distance remained constant. Overall the change of the preferred vertical direction of gaze upon binocular fixation of near stimuli was accompanied by a reduced discrepancy between convergence and the resting state of the vergence system; additional implications of the hypothesis on the relation between individual resting vergence and the effect of observation distance on the preferred inclination of gaze could not be substantiated.