Dynamic asymmetry in vergence eye movements: the underlying mechanism revealed by independent component analysis

The physiological motor response to double vision, vergence eye movements, shows a strong directional asymmetry: inward turning movements are faster than outward movements. Isolated neural components underlying these signals were identified using a new application of Independent Component Analysis. These components show that the direction-dependent nonlinearity is due primarily to a difference in only one of the major components that drive the vergence response: the transient component associated with neural burst cells.