Adaptive Internal Models: Explaining the Oculomotor System and the Cerebellum

Abstract: We propose a new model of the oculomotor system, particularly the vestibulo-ocular reflex, gaze fixation, and smooth pursuit. Our key insight is to exploit recent developments on adaptive internal models. The outcome is a simple model that includes the interactions between the brainstem and the cerebellum and that recovers behaviors from more than 15 oculomotor experiments. In addition, we put forward a thesis that the cerebellum embodies internal models of all persistent, exogenous reference and disturbance signals acting on the body and observable through the error signals it receives.