Trajectory interpretation by supplementary eye field neurons during ocular baseball.
Good performance in the sport of baseball shows that humans can determine the trajectory of a moving object and act on it under the constraint of a rule. We report here on neuronal activity in the supplementary eye field (SEF) of monkeys performing an eye movement task inspired by baseball. In "ocular baseball," a pursuit eye movement to a target is executed or withheld based on the target's trajectory. We found that a subset of neurons in the SEF interpreted the trajectory according to the task rule. Other neurons specified at a later time the command to pursue the target with the eyes. The results suggest that the SEF can interpret sensory signals about target motion in the context of a rule to guide voluntary eye movement initiation.
Kim
Yong-Guk
YG
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA.
Badler
Jeremy B
JB
Heinen
Stephen J
SJ
D000818:Animals; D001484:Baseball; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways; D014796:Visual Perception