Functional hierarchy of oculomotor and visual motion subnetworks within the human cortical optokinetic system

Optokinetic look nystagmus (look OKN) is known to engage cortical visual motion and oculomotor hubs. Their functional network hierarchy, however, and the role of the cingulate eye field (CEF) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in particular have not been investigated. We used look OKN in fMRI to identify all cortical visual motion and oculomotor hubs involved. Using these activations as seed regions, we employed hierarchical clustering in two differing resting state conditions from a separate public data set. Robust activations in the CEF highlight its functional role in OKN and involvement in higher order oculomotor control. Deactivation patterns indicate a decreased modulatory involvement of the DLPFC. The hierarchical clustering revealed a changeable organization of the eye fields, hMT, V3A, and V6 depending on the resting state condition, segregating executive from higher order visual subnetworks. Overall, hierarchical clustering seems to allow for a robust delineation of physiological cortical networks.