Oculomotor

Oculomotor processes are an important component of the normal functioning of the eyes and the entire body. Our eyes are one of the main sensory systems that interact with all other senses to receive information about the outside world. The ocular motor system is a complex system of muscles and joints that provides a wide range of eye movements and focusing vision on a specific point in space. These movements allow us to see objects, change the focus of vision, and do other visual actions.

The oculomotor system includes several different muscle groups that work simultaneously to perform these movements. Among them are the muscles that control the rotational movements of the eyeballs (the medial and lateral rectus muscles and their coordinated actions), the muscles involved in the vertical movements of the eyeballs up and down (the superior rectus muscle helps to carry out upward movements, and the inferior rectus muscle helps downwards), as well as the muscles responsible for horizontal eye movements (internal and external rectus, oblique muscles).

In addition to these muscles, synergists play an important role - other muscles with different groups of movements, such as the crescent muscles or the hyoid and hyoid-glossus muscles. All these movements are carried out in concert to achieve specific functions of the eyes, such as information about visual objects, shape recognition, color and movement of objects, contrast, etc. Impaired functioning of the oculomotor system can lead to various eye diseases, such as oculomotor nerve palsy or glaucoma.

Among the diseases associated with the functioning of the oculomotor system, the following can be identified:

1. Strabismus - deviation of the eye to the side from the center line of the face. This pathology can be caused by injuries to the oculomotor system, neurological problems and other reasons. Strabismus affects not only vision, but also the emotional state of the child, causes psychological problems, and disrupts the development of social interaction. 2. Violation of correct eye movement when looking or turning the head - ocugocotic dyspraxia. With this disease, patients are unable to coordinate eye movements with head movements. This can seriously affect a person's socio-cultural life, for example, they will not be able to write or read in transport or entertain

Oculomotor movements are involuntary or controlled contractions of the eye muscles aimed at focusing vision in a certain direction. They are provided by the oculomotor nerve (nervus oculomotorius).

Involuntary eye movement is called the **saccadic reflex**. This reflex can be caused by a congenital disease or develops on the basis of pathological conditions of the reflex with the development of neuropsychological disorders. Sometimes observed in healthy people during a long-term absence of visual stimuli (for example, during transportation on an airplane).

The extraocular muscles are susceptible to spasms and paralysis due to various diseases and pathologies that affect any part of the brain. Oculomotor pathologies can affect not only older people, but also children.

Reactions to various stimuli (such as pain, anxiety, sleep) affect the regulation of eye movements. Disturbances of the oculomotor system can occur against the background of acute or chronic stroke. The consequences of such pathologies can be very diverse. The patient may develop facial neuropathy, and children may develop hypermetropia. If the activity of the optic nerve is impaired, the patient faces complete blindness. Very often, injuries to various parts of the brain and tumors localized in the brain lead to such complications. In practice, doctors quite often encounter damage to 3, 7, 8 or 11 pairs of cranial nerves that are simultaneously involved in solving a situation.

Achalasia of the extraocular muscles -