Disparity sensitivity of frontal eye field neurons.
Information about depth is necessary to generate saccades to visual stimuli located in three-dimensional space. To determine whether monkey frontal eye field (FEF) neurons play a role in the visuo-motor processes underlying this behavior, we studied their visual responses to stimuli at different disparities. Disparity sensitivity was tested from 3 degrees of crossed disparity (near) to 3 degrees degrees of uncrossed disparity (far). The responses of about two thirds of FEF visual and visuo-movement neurons were sensitive to disparity and showed a broad tuning in depth for near or far disparities. Early phasic and late tonic visual responses often displayed different disparity sensitivity. These findings provide evidence of depth-related signals in FEF and suggest a role for FEF in the control of disconjugate as well as conjugate eye movements.
Ferraina
S
S
Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Paré
M
M
Wurtz
R H
RH
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology*; D015357:Vision Disparity / Q000502:physiology*; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*