Saccade-related activity in areas 18 and 21a of cats freely viewing complex scenes

Although saccadic eye movements can radically change the retinal image, perceptually their impact is surprisingly small. Here, we investigate possible neuronal correlates of saccadic suppression in cats freely viewing natural stimuli. By comparing changes attributable to saccadic events with passive stimulus changes, we find that during saccades: (i) evoked and induced activity is reduced in areas 18 and 21a by equal amounts, (ii) the variability of neuronal activity with stimulus category is abolished in both areas, and (iii) the high-power transient induced by stimulus change is not observed. These results present electrophysiological evidence for saccadic suppression at the level of primary and higher visual cortex under natural conditions.