While bats are well-studied for their echolocating sense, it has been unclear whether they make eye movements. A recent study shows that bats do move their eyes, but their gaze-stabilizing responses are weaker than in mice despite a comparable vestibular system.
No actionable change — this is basic animal neuroscience with no direct clinical application to audiology practice.
Understanding species-specific gaze-stabilization mechanisms can inform comparative models of vestibulo-ocular reflexes, with long-term potential relevance to vestibular science.
- 01Bats use eye movements for gaze stabilization, contradicting assumptions that they rely on head/ear movements alone.
- 02The eye-movement responses in bats differ qualitatively from those observed in mice.
- 03Findings published in Current Biology; animal (bat) model only.
- 04No human data or direct clinical translation provided.
- 05Contributes to comparative neuroscience of vestibulo-ocular and gaze-stabilization circuits.
Bats make eye movements for gaze stabilization.
studysupportedBat gaze-stabilization eye responses differ from those observed in mice.
studysupported- PMID
- 42086036
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.063.
- Journal
- Current Biology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Bats (animal model)
- Intervention
- Observation/measurement of eye movements during gaze stabilization
- Comparator
- Mice
Primary outcomes
Characterisation of gaze-stabilizing eye movements in bats; Comparison of eye-movement responses between bats and mice