Visuomotor Control Laboratory develops oculometrics and COBRA screening tool

The Visuomotor Control Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center conducted neuroscience research to clarify links between eye movements and brain function. The team developed hardware and software to validate oculometrics as measures of visual motion perception and used voluntary eye movements—saccades and smooth pursuit—as a model system to study the signals that drive perception and oculomotor choices.

To understand human performance under altered forces, the lab used the 20-g centrifuge and vibration facilities to quantify the effects of sustained (+1 or +3.8 Gx) and dynamic (±0.5 Gx at 8, 12, or 16 Hz) gravitational loads, alone and in combination. These studies addressed vestibular, visual, and motor limits on performance relevant to astronauts who must stabilize gaze, localize targets, and control arm and hand movements during high-Gx and vibration conditions of launch.

nasa ames, oculometrics, cobra, eye movements, saccades, smooth pursuit, visual motion, 20-g centrifuge, vibration, astronauts