Activity of neurons in the lateral intraparietal area of the monkey during an antisaccade task

The close relationship between saccadic eye movements and vision complicates the identification of neural responses associated with each function. Visual and saccade-related responses are especially closely intertwined in a subdivision of posterior parietal cortex, the lateral parietal area (LIP). We analyzed LIP neurons using an antisaccade task in which monkeys made saccades away from a salient visual cue. The vast majority of neurons reliably signaled the location of the visual cue. In contrast, most neurons had only weak, if any, saccade-related activity independent of visual stimulation. Thus, whereas the great majority of LIP neurons reliably encoded cue location, only a small minority encoded the direction of the upcoming saccade.