Nonhuman primate event-related potentials associated with pro- and anti-saccades.
Non-invasive event-related potential (ERP) recordings have become a popular technique to study neural activity associated with saccades in humans. To date, it is not known whether nonhuman primates exhibit similar saccade-related ERPs. Here, we recorded ERPs associated with the performance of randomly interleaved pro- and anti-saccades in macaque monkeys. Stimulus-aligned ERPs showed short-latency visual component with more negative P2 and N2 peak amplitudes on anti- than on pro-saccade trials. Saccade-aligned ERPs showed a larger presaccadic negativity on anti- than pro-saccade trials, and a presaccadic positivity on pro-saccade trials, which was attenuated or absent on anti-saccade trials. This was followed by sharp negative spike potential immediately prior to the movement. Overall, these findings demonstrate that macaque monkeys, like humans, exhibit task-related differences of visual ERPs associated with pro- and anti-saccades and furthermore share presaccadic positivity as well as a spike potential prior to these tasks. We suggest that the presaccadic positivity on pro-saccade trials is generated by a source in the contralateral frontal eye fields and that the more negative voltage on anti-saccade trials is the result of additional sources of opposite polarity in neighboring frontal areas.
Sander
Victor
V
Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
Soper
Brian
B
Everling
Stefan
S
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology