Predictive velocity estimation in the pursuit reflex response to pseudo-random and step displacement stimuli in man

1. Eye movements have been recorded in man in response to various forms of continuous and discontinuous target motions in the horizontal plane in an attempt to establish the mechanisms of prediction in the pursuit reflex. 2. In an initial experiment the target motion was composed of four sinusoids, each of peak velocity ±3.3deg/s. The three lowest frequencies (0.11, 0.24 and 0.37Hz) remained constant whereas the highest frequency (F4) was varied from 0.39 to 2.08Hz. When F4 was 0.39Hz, all frequency components had a high level of eye velocity gain (mean 0.92) but as F4 was increased there was a significant (P0.8Hz) component is present, an estimate of its periodicity is also derived and selectively enhances the eye velocity gain for that frequency.