The ability of smooth pursuit to anticipate changes in the trajectory of target motion was first observed for pursuit of highly-predictable, sinusoidal target motions, when the eye was found to change direction either in time with, or slightly ahead of, the target (Dallos & Jones,
1963; Westheimer,
1954). The smooth pursuit system was assumed to be able to learn the pattern of repetitive motion (Dallos & Jones,
1963; Westheimer,
1954), or to include short-term memory for recent motions as part of the input signal (Barnes & Asselman,
1991). Repetitive motions, however, are not essential. Anticipatory smooth eye movements (ASEM), smooth eye movements in the direction of the expected future motion of a target (Boman & Hotson,
1992; Kowler & Steinman,
1979), do not require repetitive motion, and can be elicited by a variety of perceptual cues that disclose the future motion path (Aitkin, Santos, & Kowler,
2013; Badler & Heinen,
2006; de Hemptinne, Lefèvre, & Missal,
2006; Jarrett & Barnes,
2002; Kowler,
1989; Kowler, Aitkin, Ross, Santos, & Zhao,
2014; Ladda, Eggert, Glasauer, & Straube,
2007; Maryott, Noyce, & Sekuler,
2011; Medina, Carey, & Lisberger,
2005; Montagnini, Spering, & Masson,
2006; Mrotek & Soechting,
2007; Orban de Xivry, Missal, & Lefèvre,
2008; Ross & Santos,
2014; Santos, Gnang, & Kowler,
2012), including on the very first exposure to the cue (Aitkin et al.,
2013). ASEM produced by cues have been linked to neural activity in supplementary eye fields (de Hemptinne, Lefèvre, & Missal,
2008; Missal & Heinen,
2004; Shichinohe et al.,
2009; Yang, Hwang, Ford, & Heinen,
2010).