Central positional nystagmus simulated by a mathematical ocular motor model of otolith-dependent modification of Listing's plane

To find an explanation of the mechanisms of central positional nystagmus in neurological patients with posterior fossa lesions, we developed a three-d imensional (3-D) mathematical model to simulate head position-dependent cha nges in eye position control relative to gravity. This required a model imp lementation of saccadic burst generation, of the neural velocity to eye pos ition integrator, which includes the experimentally demonstrated leakage in the torsional component, and of otolith-dependent neural control of Listin g's plane. The validity of the model was first tested by simulating saccadi c eye movements in different head positions. Then the model was used to sim ulate central positional nystagmus in off-vertical head positions. The mode l simulated lesions of assumed otolith inputs to the burst generator or the neural integrator, both of which resulted in different types of torsional- vertical nystagmus that only occurred during head tilt in roll plane. The m odel data qualitatively fit clinical observations of central positional nys tagmus. Quantitative comparison with patient data were not possible, since no 3-D analyses of eye movements in various head positions have been report ed in the literature on patients with positional nystagmus. The present mod el, prompted by an open clinical question, proposes a new hypothesis about the generation of pathological nystagmus and about neural control of Listin g's plane.