What is Listing's Law?

  • Donders' law states that the orientation of the eye when looking in a specific direction is always the same.
  • Listing's law specifies what this orientation is.
  • Note the axes (the bars protruding from the eyes) used to rotate from center to various eccentric positions.
  • Listing correctly predicted that all these axes are confined to a common plane.
  • This plane is called Listing's plane.

Copyright © 1996 Tutis Vilis and Douglas Tweed
University of Western Ontario
London Ontario Canada
Updated October 28, 2005

Comments welcome. Email to tutis.vilis@schulich.uwo.ca