Despite their different sensorimotor functions. saccades, pursuit eye movem
ents, small-field optokinetic nystagmus and visual motion stimulation with
the eyes stationary evoke a common complex pattern of activation in various
cortical, basal ganglia, brain-stem and cerebellar areas, On closer inspec
tion, however, typical subregions can be delineated that allow differentiat
ion of adjacent but separate loci for specific functions (e.g. the separati
on of the two parallel corticocortical systems to control saccades and purs
uit in the cortical eye fields). It is becoming increasingly clear that sti
mulation of one sensory system affects other sensory systems, and generally
this is via an inhibitory reciprocal mode of interaction. For example, ves
tibular stimulation deactivates the visual cortex and visual stimulation de
activates the vestibular cortex. Curl Opin Neurol 13:13-18. (C) 2000 Lippin
cott Williams & Wilkins.