Short latency compensatory eye movement responses to transient linear head acceleration: a specific function of the otolith-ocular reflex.

Normal subjects were exposed to 0.26 g linear acceleration steps along the inter-aural axis whilst they fixated an earth stationary target at 110 cm distance. The stimulus evoked slow phase eye movements at a mean latency of 34 ms which attained the relative target velocity in 113 ms. In contrast, visual following with head fixed, of identical relative target motion, had significantly longer latencies and time to match target velocity. The short latency responses to linear acceleration were absent in an alabyrinthine subject. It is concluded that the otolith-ocular reflex is responsible for the short latency responses to linear head movement and functions to stabilise vision during sudden head movement before visually guided compensatory eye movements take effect.