The role of the posterior parietal cortex in saccadic error processing

Ocular saccades rapidly displace the fovea from one point of interest to another, thus minimizing the loss of visual information and ensuring the seamless continuity of visual perception. However, because of intrinsic variability in sensory-motor processing, saccades often miss their intended target, necessitating a secondary corrective saccade. Behavioral evidence suggests that the oculomotor system estimates saccadic error by relying on two sources of information: the retinal feedback obtained post-saccadically and an internal extra-retinal signal obtained from efference copy or proprioception. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this process remain elusive. We trained two rhesus monkeys to perform visually guided saccades towards a target that was imperceptibly displaced at saccade onset on some trials. We recorded activity from neurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP), an area implicated in visual, attentional and saccadic processing. We found that a subpopulation of neurons detect saccadic motor error by firing more strongly after an inaccurate saccade. This signal did not depend on retinal feedback or on the execution of a secondary corrective saccade. Moreover, inactivating LIP led to a large and selective increase in the latency of small (i.e., natural) corrective saccade initiation. Our results indicate a key role for LIP in saccadic error processing.