Cortical contributions to saccadic suppression.
The stability of visual perception is partly maintained by saccadic suppression: the selective reduction of visual sensitivity that accompanies rapid eye movements. The neural mechanisms responsible for this reduced perisaccadic visibility remain unknown, but the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) has been proposed as a likely site. Our data show, however, that the saccadic suppression of a target flashed in the right visual hemifield increased with an increase in background luminance in the left visual hemifield. Because each LGN only receives retinal input from a single hemifield, this hemifield interaction cannot be explained solely on the basis of neural mechanisms operating in the LGN. Instead, this suggests that saccadic suppression must involve processing in higher level cortical areas that have access to a considerable part of the ipsilateral hemifield.
Chahine
George
G
Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America.
Krekelberg
Bart
B
D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D005133:Eye Movements; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008954:Models, Biological; D009039:Motion Perception; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014794:Visual Fields; D014795:Visual Pathways; D014796:Visual Perception