Cervical and otolithic control of Anticompensatory Fast Phases (AFPs) in cats and rabbits

In cats and rabbits the amplitude and frequency of Anticompensatory fast phases (AFPs) of the horizontal vestibule-ocular reflex are function of the vestibular stimulus and, consequently, of the compensatory slow phase velocity. We have shown that the same relationship exists in the vertical vestibule-ocular reflex when the stimulus involves only the semicircular canals. The addition of the otolithic control induce suppression of reduction in both amplitude and frequency of AFPs in the vertical plane. In the horizontal plane AFPs were influence by the activation of cervical receptors, but the effects were less evident compared to the stimulation of otolithic receptors.