Posterior cingulate cortex: sensory and oculomotor properties of single neurons in behaving cat

The posterior cingulate cortex of the cat is strongly linked to cortical areas with sensory and oculomotor functions. We have now recorded from feline posterior cingulate neurons in order to determine whether they are active in conjunction with sensory events and eye movements. The results described here are based on monitoring the electrical activity of 195 single neurons in the posterior cingulate cortex of three cats equipped with surgically implanted scleral search coils and trained to fixate visual targets. Posterior cingulate neurons carry tonic orbital position signals and are phasically active in conjunction with saccadic eye movements. Activity related to eye movements and gaze is attenuated but not abolished by the elimination of visual feedback. Posterior cingulate neurons also are responsive to visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimulation. Systematic testing with visual stimuli revealed that responses are sharply reduced due to refractoriness at rates of stimulation greater than a few per second. These results conform to the theory that posterior cingulate cortex is involved in processes underlying visuospatial cognition.