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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.02.10.430669

Mice Make Targeted Saccades

Zahler, S. H.·Taylor, D. E.·Adams, J. M.·Feinberg, E. H.
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Abstract

Animals investigate their environments by directing their gaze towards salient stimuli. In the prevailing view, mouse gaze shifts are led by head rotations that trigger compensatory, brainstem-mediated eye movements, including saccades to reset the eyes. These "recentering" saccades are attributed to head movement-related vestibular and optokinetic cues. However, microstimulating mouse superior colliculus (SC) elicits directed head and eye movements that resemble SC-dependent sensory-guided gaze shifts made by other species, raising the possibility mice generate additional types of gaze shifts. We investigated this possibility by tracking eye and attempted head movements in a head-fixed preparation that eliminates head movement-related sensory cues. We found tactile stimuli evoke gaze shifts involving directed saccades that precede attempted head rotations. Optogenetic perturbations revealed SC drives touch-evoked gaze shifts. Thus, mice make sensory-guided, SC-dependent gaze shifts led by directed saccades. Our findings uncover diversity in mouse gaze shifts and provide a foundation for studying head-eye coupling.

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Zahler, S. H., Taylor, D. E., Adams, J. M., Feinberg, E. H.. 2021-02-11. Mice Make Targeted Saccades. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.10.430669

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