science

Ocular tremor

Ocular tremor is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ocular tremor rather than just read about it. In short: Ocular tremor (ocular microtremor) is a constant, involuntary eye tremor of a low amplitude and high frequency. It is a type of fixational eye movement that occurs in all normal people, even when the eye appears still.

Key takeaways

Ocular tremor belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ocular tremor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ocular tremor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ocular tremor (ocular microtremor) is a constant, involuntary eye tremor of a low amplitude and high frequency. It is a type of fixational eye movement that occurs in all normal people, even when the eye appears still. The frequency of ocular microtremor has been found to range from 30 Hz to 103 Hz, and the amplitude is approximately four thousandths of a degree.

Cause Human eyes are constantly moving, even if they appear to be focused on an object. These constant oscillations are called fixational eye movements, and they include ocular microtremor, microsaccades, and drift. Ocular tremor is the smallest of these movements, and it often overlaps with drift. This makes it the most difficult fixational eye movement to measure. Due to these difficulties in measurement, fewer studies have been performed on ocular microtremor, leading to the phenomenon of ocular tremor not being well-understood. Researchers are not entirely sure of the cause of ocular microtremor. It may be a result from the firing of motor neurons at different times. It has also been suggested that ocular tremor is a result of the eye being balanced between opposing muscles.

Size and measurement Ocular microtremor is smaller than the other fixational eye movements of microsaccades and drift. It occurs between microsaccades, during the same time intervals as drift. The measured frequency and amplitude of ocular tremor have been found to vary. The frequency typically falls between 30 Hz and 103 Hz, while the amplitude has been measured to be approximately four thousandths of a degree. Specific tools, known as piezoelectric probes or piezoelectric strain gauges, are commonly used to measure ocular microtremor. A local anesthetic is used for both of these invasive methods, because contact with the sclera is required. While non-contact methods of measuring ocular tremor have been found, they are not typically used due to their low resolution.

See also Eye movements Fixational eye movements Human eye Visual perception Piezoelectric sensor

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ocular tremor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ocular tremor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ocular tremor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ocular tremor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ocular tremor

In research: Ocular tremor appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ocular tremor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ocular tremor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Perception, Vision, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ocular tremor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ocular tremor” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ocular tremor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ocular tremor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ocular tremor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ocular tremor in simple terms?

Why does Ocular tremor matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ocular tremor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ocular tremor.