From Sensory Space to Motor Commands: Lessons from Saccades

Abstract

Our distributed model of the saccadic system faithfully reproduces saccadic waveforms and the patterns of neuronal activity observed in several brain areas. However, our model is not based on principles found in classical theories of motor controL In this paper we attempt to extract from our model some general principles about neural motor controllers. We conclude that intrinsic brain signals might represent non-physical signals, such as desired sensory states, approximate motor drives, and distributed motor commands, rather than physical signals (e.g., desired displacement or motor error). Furthermore, our model demonstrates that the critical transformation from maps of sensory space to temporal motor commands is not necessarily carried out explicitly. Instead, the transformation can be implicit, emerging from network connections within a feedback loop.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 25, 2001
Accession Number
ADA412566

Entities

People

  • C. Quaia
  • L. M. Optican

Organizations

  • National Eye Institute

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Amplitude
  • Brain
  • Closed Loop Systems
  • Comparators
  • Computational Complexity
  • Control Systems
  • Control Theory
  • Directional
  • Displacement
  • Errors
  • Eye
  • Eye Movements
  • Feedback
  • Generators
  • Information Processing
  • Pulse Generators

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Neuroscience

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers