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Updated: Aug 10, 2026
High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain
Published on: May 10, 2012
Functional imaging of the primate superior colliculus during saccades to visual targets
A K Moschovakis1, G G Gregoriou, H E Savaki
1Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, University of Crete, PO Box 1393, 711 10 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. moschov@med.uoc.gr
Abstract:
The primate superior colliculus (SC) is a midbrain nucleus crucial for the control of rapid eye movements (saccades). Its neurons are topographically arranged over the rostrocaudal and mediolateral extent of its deeper layers so that saccade metrics (amplitude and direction) are coded in terms of the location of active neurons. We used the quantitative [14C]-deoxyglucose method to obtain a map of the two-dimensional pattern of activity throughout the SC of rhesus monkeys repeatedly executing visually guided saccades of the same amplitude and direction for the duration of the experiment. Increased metabolic activity was confined to a circumscribed region of the two-dimensional reconstructed map of the SC contralateral to the direction of the movement. The precise rostrocaudal and mediolateral location of the area activated depended on saccade metrics. Our data support the notion that the population of active SC cells remains stationary in collicular space during saccades.
