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.