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Related Experiment Videos

Controlled movement processing: superior colliculus activity associated with countermanded saccades.

Martin Paré1, Doug P Hanes

  • 1Department of Physiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. pare@biomed.queensu.ca

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|July 25, 2003
PubMed
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The superior colliculus (SC) in the midbrain plays a key role in controlling eye movements. This study shows SC neurons signal decisions to cancel or produce saccadic eye movements.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Ophthalmology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • The superior colliculus (SC) is a crucial midbrain structure involved in regulating saccadic eye movements.
  • Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying saccade control, including cancellation and production, is essential for comprehending visual-guided behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if neurons in the monkey superior colliculus (SC) possess activity patterns capable of controlling both saccade cancellation and production.
  • To determine the role of the SC in the decision-making process of executing or aborting a planned saccade.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a countermanding task where monkeys were presented with visual stimuli and occasional stop signals to manipulate saccade cancellation.
  • Modeled behavioral responses using a race model of GO and STOP processes to estimate saccade cancellation time.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Recorded neuronal activity in the intermediate layers of the SC during the countermanding task.

    • Main Results:

    • Saccade cancellation was estimated to take approximately 110 msec on average.
    • SC neurons, both saccade- and fixation-related, showed distinct activity patterns when saccades were countermanded versus executed.
    • Changes in SC neuronal activity preceded behavioral estimates of saccade cancellation by 10-13 msec.
    • Saccade-related neurons exhibited significantly reduced firing rates when saccades were countermanded, suggesting a critical activation threshold for saccade initiation.

    Conclusions:

    • The superior colliculus (SC) contains neural signals directly involved in regulating the decision to produce or cancel saccadic eye movements.
    • SC neuronal activity patterns are consistent with a role in the neural computation underlying saccade control and behavioral decisions.
    • Findings provide strong evidence for the SC's direct involvement in the neural circuitry governing saccade production and cancellation.