Oculomotor

Head
Prof. Dr. Uwe Ilg
Tel. +49 (0)7071 29 87602
Fax +49 (0)7071 29 5724

Staff
David Mack

Research
One of the most fundamental problems related to the generation of goal-directed motor programs is the need to transform a sensory  frame of reference into the frame of reference used by the specific motor system. The transformation of the multiple sensory reference frames into a common motor command is probably one of the major functions of the posterior parietal cortex. To reveal the basic principles of this coordinate transformation, single-unit activity recorded from the parietal cortex and the frontal cortex of rhesus monkeys during the execution of visual-driven eye, head and hand movements as well as the analysis of deficits following punctuate lesions of the parietal cortex are being analyzed.

Selected Publications
Ilg UJ, Thier P. Visual tracking neurons in primate area MST are activated during smooth pursuit eye movements towards an "imaginary" target. Journal of Neurophysiology 2003; 90: 1489-1502

Ilg UJ. Visual tracking neurons in primate area MST are activated during anticipatory smooth pursuit eye movements. NeuroReport  2003; 14: 2219-2223

Ilg UJ, Schumann S, Thier P. Posterior parietal cortex neurons encode object motion in world-centered coordinates. Neuron 2004; 43: 145-151

Teaching

• Vorlesung Sensorimotor Integration

In 2008, Uwe Ilg took over the responsibility for the implementation and management of the Neuroscience Laboratory for Highschool Students which has required a substantial fraction of his capacities. The goal of his school, which is supported by the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and various foundations (Hertie, Bosch, Tschira) is to attract talented young people during their last year of high school education to Neuroscience in order to ensure future generations of successful scientists.