Neuronal activity in monkey superior colliculus related to the initiation of saccadic eye movements
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The introduction of a temporal gap between the disappearance of an initially fixated target and the appearance of an eccentric saccadic target results in a general reduction of saccadic reaction times (SRTs)-the gap effect-and often in the production of express saccades, the latencies of which approach the conduction time of the shortest neural pathways from the retina to the eye muscles. We investigated saccade initiation by recording neuronal activity in the superior colliculus in monkeys performing the gap paradigm. Fixation-related neurons reduced their discharge rate during the gap period, regardless of the SRT. This reduction in activity is consistent with the hypothesized release of ocular fixation that facilitates premotor processes and may contribute to the gap effect. In addition to saccade-related discharges, many saccade-related neurons displayed phasic target-related responses and/or low-frequency preparatory activity during the gap period. The level of this preparatory activity correlated with both SRT and express saccade occurrence when the saccade was made into the response field of the neuron. Evidence indicates that advanced motor preparation is required for express saccade generation, which may be subserved by specific increases in the preparatory activity of saccade-related neurons. Increased preparatory activity may allow the target-related responses to trigger short-latency express saccades directly. This study provides insights into the functional mechanism of saccade initiation and may be relevant to the generation of all voluntary motor responses.
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There is evidence for a trial-to-trial correlation between the response latency and the preparatory activity of cortical movement neurons, before the target onset, in saccade and other sensory-motor tasks.
“There is also evidence for a trial-to-trial correlation between the response latency and the preparatory activity of cortical movement neurons, before the target onset, in saccade and other sensory-motor tasks (Dorris et al., 1997; Churchland et al., 2006; Nakahara et al., 2006).”
From Decision Making in Recurrent Neuronal Circuits (2008) · cites this paper as Dorris et al., 1997
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- Authors
- Dorris, M. C., Paré, M., & Munoz, D. P.
- Affiliations
- Queen's University (CA)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 1997-11-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 8566-8579
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6573744
- OpenAlex
- W1642141456
- Cited by
- 593
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 10.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council Canada
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- saccades, superior colliculus, saccade initiation, gap effect, express saccades, saccade reaction time, preparatory activity, motor preparation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Macaca mulatta, Male, Microelectrodes, Neural Conduction, Neurons, Oculomotor Muscles, Reaction Time, Retina, Saccades, Superior Colliculi, Visual Pathways
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