Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T14:10:49.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Corticostriatal and corticotectal neurons in area 6 of the cat during fixation and eye movements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1998

THEODORE G. WEYAND
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, LSU Medical Center, New Orleans
ADELE C. GAFKA
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, LSU Medical Center, New Orleans

Abstract

We studied the visuomotor properties of 54 corticostriatal (CS) and 38 corticotectal (CT) neurons in a region of area 6 that largely corresponds to the cat's frontal eye fields in five cats trained to do simple oculomotor tasks. Overall, these cells were similar to the general population of area 6 neurons described in the previous paper (Weyand & Gafka, 1998), with very few showing pre-saccadic activity. Likewise, CS and CT cells were similar to each other, although only CS cells showed activity exclusively related to the delivery of the reward and CT cells were more likely to be active during saccades. Variability in visual response latencies and the observation that some cells showed initial visual suppression suggest CS and CT cells reflect the output of a variety of intracortical circuits. Despite similar response properties and overlapping laminar origin, CS and CT circuits appear largely independent. Among 32 cells that we could electrically activate (either synaptically or antidromically) from the superior colliculus, only two could also be activated from stimulating electrodes in the striatum. Similarly, 23 of 25 cells electrically activated from the striatum could not be activated from the superior colliculus. Although few of these efferent cells exhibited pre-motor activity, many exhibit properties that could contribute to gaze control.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
1998 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)