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The parietal cortex and saccade planning: lessons from human lesion studies
1Division of Neurorehabilitation, University Hospitals Geneva Geneva, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neurorehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland ; Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|June 14, 2013
Summary
The parietal cortex is crucial for planning eye movements (saccades), especially when attention is divided. Damage can cause specific saccade deficits, potentially by disrupting top-down control over basic eye movement systems.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Oculomotor Research
Background:
- The parietal cortex integrates sensory information for motor planning.
- Neurons in the parietal cortex show activity related to attention, reach, grasp, and saccades.
- Understanding parietal cortex function is key to explaining complex motor control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review human lesion studies on the parietal cortex's role in saccade planning.
- To investigate how parietal damage affects saccade programming and control.
- To explore the mechanisms underlying oculomotor deficits after parietal lesions.
Main Methods:
- Review of human lesion studies, focusing on patients with unilateral and bilateral parietal damage.
- Analysis of saccade deficits in patients with spatial neglect and Bálint's syndrome.
- Correlation of observed oculomotor impairments with known parietal cortex functions.
Main Results:
- Unilateral parietal damage with spatial neglect causes lateralized saccade programming deficits, particularly with competing stimuli.
- Bilateral parietal damage leads to broader impairments in saccade initiation and control.
- Findings suggest a dual role for the parietal cortex in saccade control: sensory competition and top-down modulation.
Conclusions:
- The parietal cortex plays a critical role in saccade planning, especially under conditions of sensory competition.
- Oculomotor deficits after parietal damage can result from impaired sensory integration or loss of top-down control.
- These findings highlight the parietal cortex's importance in coordinating complex eye movements.
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