Neuroscience 2001 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 59.8 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Supplementary Eye Field Activity Precedes Superior Colliculus Activity in a Sensory Decision-Making Task. |
| Authors: |
Batista, A. P.*1,2
; Newsome, W. T.1,2
1Howard Hughes Med Inst, Stanford, CA 2Neurobiology, Stanford Univ, Stanford, CA |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Motor Systems - Oculomotor -- Saccadic eye movement |
| Secondary Theme and Topics | Cognition and Behavior<br />- Animal Cognition and Behavior<br />-- Executive function |
| Session: |
59. Vision: extrastriate visual cortex--perception and action II Poster |
| Presentation Time: | Sunday, November 11, 2001 11:00 AM-12:00 PM |
| Location: | Exhibit Hall T-5 |
| Keywords: | frontal cortex, saccade, macaque, visual motion |
Most tasks used to study sensory-motor processing allow motor plans to be programmed during the sensory epoch of the task. We studied neurons in frontal cortex in a task designed to isolate sensory decisions from movement planning (the Loose Stimulus-Response Association (LSRA) task, Horwitz and Newsome, SfN 1999.) Monkeys viewed a field of dots moving in one of two directions, then reported the direction of motion with a saccade to one of two targets, which appeared later in the trial following a brief delay. The targets appeared at randomly chosen positions, eliminating any consistent relationship between motion direction and saccade direction. During the delay, therefore, monkeys must maintain a decision about the motion direction but cannot develop a reliable saccade plan. Using this task, Horwitz and Newsome found that 10% of neurons in the deeper superior colliculus (SC) were selectively activated in relation to the monkey's decision, although the activity was weaker during the presentation of the stimulus than during the subsequent delay period.
We recorded in the supplementary eye field (SEF) and adjacent cortex while a monkey performed the LSRA task. We find that a minority of SEF neurons responds in relation to the monkey's decision. In contrast to the SC, SEF neurons achieve their maximal decision-related activity early in the trial--within a few hundred msec after the stimulus appears. The more rapid appearance of decision-related activity in and around the SEF is consistent with the possibility that decision-related activity in the SC arises in part from processing in the frontal cortex.
We recorded in the supplementary eye field (SEF) and adjacent cortex while a monkey performed the LSRA task. We find that a minority of SEF neurons responds in relation to the monkey's decision. In contrast to the SC, SEF neurons achieve their maximal decision-related activity early in the trial--within a few hundred msec after the stimulus appears. The more rapid appearance of decision-related activity in and around the SEF is consistent with the possibility that decision-related activity in the SC arises in part from processing in the frontal cortex.
Supported by HHMI and NEI (05603).
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2001 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, 2001. Online.
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