scholarly journals Similarity of superior colliculus involvement in microsaccade and saccade generation

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 1904-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziad M. Hafed ◽  
Richard J. Krauzlis
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Firing Rate ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Movement Onset ◽  
Midbrain Structure ◽  
Fixational Saccades ◽  
Voluntary Saccades ◽  
Saccade Generation

The characteristics of microsaccades, or small fixational saccades, and their influence on visual function have been studied extensively. However, the detailed mechanisms for generating these movements are less understood. We recently found that the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain structure involved in saccade generation, also plays a role in microsaccade generation. Here we compared the dynamics of neuronal activity in the SC associated with microsaccades to those observed in this structure in association with larger voluntary saccades. We found that microsaccade-related activity in the SC is characterized by a gradual increase in firing rate starting ∼100 ms prior to microsaccade onset, a peak of neuronal discharge just after movement onset, and a subsequent gradual decrease in firing rate until ∼100 ms after movement onset. These properties were shared with saccade-related SC neurons, recorded from the same monkeys but preferring larger eye movements, suggesting that at the level of the SC the neuronal control of microsaccades is similar to that for larger voluntary saccades. We also found that neurons exhibiting microsaccade-related activity often also exhibited saccade-related activity for slightly larger movements of similar direction, suggesting a continuity of the spatial representation in the SC, in both amplitude and direction, down to the smallest movements. Our results indicate that the mechanisms controlling microsaccades may be fundamentally the same as those for larger saccades, and thus shed new light on the functional role of these eye movements and their possible influence on sensory and sensory-motor processes.

Site of interaction between saccade signals and vestibular signals induced by head rotation in the alert cat: functional properties and afferent organization of burster-driving neurons

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kitama ◽  
Y. Ohki ◽  
H. Shimazu ◽  
M. Tanaka ◽  
K. Yoshida
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Firing Rate ◽  
Regression Line ◽  
Head Rotation ◽  
Eye Position ◽  
Alert Cat ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Horizontal Head ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Extracellular spikes of burster-driving neurons (BDNs) were recorded within and immediately below the prepositus hypoglossi nucleus in the alert cat. BDNs were characterized by short-latency activation after stimulation of the contralateral vestibular nerve (latency: 1.4-2.7 ms) and the ipsilateral superior colliculus (latency: 1.7-3.5 ms). Convergence of vestibular and collicular inputs was found in all of 85 BDNs tested. Firing of BDNs increased during contralateral horizontal head rotation and decreased during ipsilateral rotation. A burst of spikes was induced in association with contralateral saccades and quick phases of nystagmus. 2. BDNs showed irregular tonic discharges during fixation. There was no significant correlation between the firing rate during fixation and horizontal or vertical eye position in most BDNs. During horizontal sinusoidal head rotation, the change in firing rate was approximately proportional to and in phase with contralateral head velocity. The phase lag of the response relative to head angular velocity was 13.8 +/- 20.1 degrees (mean +/- SD) at 0.5 Hz and 7.2 +/- 13.5 degrees at 0.2 Hz on the average. The gain was 0.88 +/- 0.25 (spikes/s)/(degrees/s) at 0.5 Hz and 1.19 +/- 0.49 (spikes/s)/(degrees/s) at 0.2 Hz. 3. Quantitative analysis of burst activity associated with saccades or quick phases indicated that the ON direction of BDNs was contralateral horizontal. The number of spikes in the burst was linearly related to the amplitude of the contralateral component of rapid eye movements. The slope of regression line was, on the average, 1.14 +/- 0.48 spikes/deg. There was no significant difference between the mean slopes for saccades and quick phases. The number of spikes depended on the difference between initial and final horizontal eye positions and not on the absolute eye position in the orbit. The mean burst firing rate was proportional to the mean velocity of the contralateral component of rapid eye movements. The slope of the regression line was 0.82 +/- 0.34 (spikes/s)/(degrees/s). Significant correlation was also found between intraburst instantaneous firing rate and instantaneous component eye velocity. 4. Objects presented in the contralateral visual field elicited a brief burst of spikes in BDNs independent of any eye movement. Contralateral saccades to the target were preceded by an early response to the visual stimulus and subsequent response associated with eye movement. 5. Excitation of BDNs produced by stimulation of the ipsilateral superior colliculus was facilitated by contralateral horizontal head rotation. Therefore saccadic signals from the superior colliculus to BDNs may be augmented by vestibular signals during head rotation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Anatomy and physiology of saccadic long-lead burst neurons recorded in the alert squirrel monkey. II. Pontine neurons

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Scudder ◽  
A. K. Moschovakis ◽  
A. B. Karabelas ◽  
S. M. Highstein
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Reticular Formation ◽  
Reticulospinal Neurons ◽  
Burst Neurons ◽  
Nucleus Reticularis ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Saccade Generation

1. The discharge patterns and axonal projections of saccadic long-lead burst neurons (LLBNs) with somata in the pontine reticular formation were studied in alert squirrel monkeys with the use of the method of intraaxonal recording and horseradish peroxidase injection. 2. The largest population of stained neurons were afferents to the cerebellum. They originated in the dorsomedial nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) including its dorsal cell group (N = 5), the preabducens intrafascicular nucleus (N = 5), and the raphe pontis (N = 1). Axons of all neurons coursed under NRTP and entered brachium pontis without having synapsed in the brain stem. Three axons sent collaterals to the floccular lobe, but other more distant targets of these and the other cerebellar afferents could not be determined. Movement fields of these neurons were intermediate between vectorial and directional types. 3. Four neurons had their somata in nucleus reticularis pontis oralis and terminations in the brain stem reticular formation. Each neuron was different, but all terminated in the region containing excitatory burst neurons, and most terminated in the region containing inhibitory burst neurons. Other targets include nucleus reticularis pontis oralis and caudalis, NRTP, raphe interpositus, and the spinal cord. Discharge patterns included both vectorial and directional types. 4. Two reticulospinal neurons had large multipolar somata either just rostral or ventral to the abducens nucleus. These neurons also projected to the medullary reticular formation, caudal nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, and dorsal and ventral paramedian reticular nucleus. 5. The functional implications of the connections of these LLBNs and those reported in the companion paper are extensively discussed. The fact that the efferents of the superior colliculus target the regions containing medium-lead saccadic burst neurons confirms the role of the colliculus in saccade generation. However, the finding that many other neurons project to these regions and the finding that superior colliculus efferents project more heavily to areas containing reticulospinal neurons argue for a diminished role of the superior colliculus in saccade generation but an augmented role in head movement control.

Discharge Properties of Neurons in the Rostral Superior Colliculus of the Monkey During Smooth-Pursuit Eye Movements

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 876-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Krauzlis ◽  
Michele A. Basso ◽  
Robert H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Motor Command ◽  
Contralateral Side ◽  
Position Error ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements

The intermediate and deep layers of the monkey superior colliculus (SC) comprise a retinotopically organized map for eye movements. The rostral end of this map, corresponding to the representation of the fovea, contains neurons that have been referred to as “fixation cells” because they discharge tonically during active fixation and pause during the generation of most saccades. These neurons also possess movement fields and are most active for targets close to the fixation point. Because the parafoveal locations encoded by these neurons are also important for guiding pursuit eye movements, we studied these neurons in two monkeys as they generated smooth pursuit. We found that fixation cells exhibit the same directional preferences during pursuit as during small saccades—they increase their discharge during movements toward the contralateral side and decrease their discharge during movements toward the ipsilateral side. This pursuit-related activity could be observed during saccade-free pursuit and was not predictive of small saccades that often accompanied pursuit. When we plotted the discharge rate from individual neurons during pursuit as a function of the position error associated with the moving target, we found tuning curves with peaks within a few degrees contralateral of the fovea. We compared these pursuit-related tuning curves from each neuron to the tuning curves for a saccade task from which we separately measured the visual, delay, and peri-saccadic activity. We found the highest and most consistent correlation with the delay activity recorded while the monkey viewed parafoveal stimuli during fixation. The directional preferences exhibited during pursuit can therefore be attributed to the tuning of these neurons for contralateral locations near the fovea. These results support the idea that fixation cells are the rostral extension of the buildup neurons found in the more caudal colliculus and that their activity conveys information about the size of the mismatch between a parafoveal stimulus and the currently foveated location. Because the generation of pursuit requires a break from fixation, the pursuit-related activity indicates that these neurons are not strictly involved with maintaining fixation. Conversely, because activity during the delay period was found for many neurons even when no eye movement was made, these neurons are also not obligatorily related to the generation of a movement. Thus the tonic activity of these rostral neurons provides a potential position-error signal rather than a motor command—a principle that may be applicable to buildup neurons elsewhere in the SC.

scholarly journals Prevalence of multiple subtypes of binocularly-modulated visual neurons in the mouse superior colliculus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Lynn Russell ◽  
Jason W Triplett
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Visual Neurons ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Binocular Perception

A central role of the visual system is to integrate inputs from both eyes to form one coherent visual perception. The superior colliculus (SC) plays a central role in visual processing, gaze orientation and vergence eye movements necessary for binocular vision. Indeed, the SC receives direct inputs from both the contralateral and ipsilateral eye and binocularly-modulated neurons have been identified in the SC of multiple species. However, evidence for binocular processing in rodents, particularly mice, has not been functionally confirmed. In this study we recorded visually-evoked activity in the mouse SC while presenting visual stimuli to each eye individually or both together and reveal a surprising diversity of binocularly-modulated responses. Strikingly, we found that ~2/3 of all identified neurons in the anteromedial SC were binocularly-modulated. Furthermore, we identified four binocular subtypes based on their differential responses under varying ocularities of stimulus presentation. Interestingly, we found both orientation- and direction- selective (OS and DS, respectively) neurons in all four binocular subtypes. And, tuning properties of binocular neurons were distinct from neighboring monocular neurons, exhibiting more linear spatial summation. Together, these data suggest that binocular neurons are prevalent in the anteromedial SC of the mouse. Additionally, the distinct tuning properties of binocular neurons suggest a previously unappreciated complexity of visual processing in the SC, which may contribute to binocular perception.

scholarly journals Memory-guided microsaccades

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin-Friedrich Willeke ◽  
Xiaoguang Tian ◽  
Antimo Buonocore ◽  
Joachim Bellet ◽  
Araceli Ramirez-Cardenas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Visual Performance ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Visual Guidance ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Visually Guided Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

AbstractMicrosaccades are overwhelmingly described as involuntary eye movements. Here we show in both human subjects and monkeys that individual microsaccades of any direction can easily be triggered: (1) “on demand”, based on an arbitrary instruction, (2) without any special training, (3) without visual guidance by a stimulus, and (4) in a spatially and temporally accurate manner. Subjects voluntarily generated instructed “memory-guided” microsaccades readily, and similarly to how they made normal visually-guided ones. In two monkeys, we also observed midbrain superior colliculus neurons that exhibited movement-related activity bursts exclusively for memory-guided microsaccades, but not for similarly-sized visually-guided movements. Our results demonstrate behavioral and neural evidence for voluntary control over individual microsaccades, supporting recently discovered functional contributions of individual microsaccade generation to visual performance alterations and covert visual selection.

Role of striate cortex and superior colliculus in visual guidance of saccadic eye movements in monkeys

1977 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Mohler ◽  
R. H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Macaca Mulatta ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Guidance

1. We studied the effect of lesions placed in striate cortex or superior colliculus on the detection of visual stimuli and the accuracy of saccadic eye movements. The monkeys (Macaca mulatta) first learned to respond to a 0.25 degrees spot of light flashed for 150-200 ms in one part of the visual field while they were fixating in order to determine if they could detect the light. The monkeys also learned in a different task to make a saccade to the spot of light when the fixation point went out, and the accuracy of the saccades was measured. 2. Following a unilateral partial ablation of the striate cortex in two monkeys they could not detect the spot of light in the resulting scotoma or saccade to it. The deficit was only relative; if we increased the brightness of the stimulus from the usual 11 cd/m2 to 1,700 cd/m2 against a background of 1 cd/m2 the monkeys were able to detect and to make a saccade to the spot of light. 3. Following about 1 mo of practice on the detection and saccade tasks, the monkeys recovered the ability to detect the spots of light and to make saccades to them without gross errors (saccades made beyond an area of +/-3 average standard deviations). Lowering the stimulus intensity reinstated both the detection and saccadic errors...

Site and parameters of microstimulation: evidence for independent effects on the properties of saccades evoked from the primate superior colliculus

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 3360-3381 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Stanford ◽  
E. G. Freedman ◽  
D. L. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Movement Amplitude ◽  
Movement Onset ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Train Duration ◽  
Frequency Of Stimulation ◽  
Site Of Stimulation

1. Microstimulation is used to investigate how activity in the superior colliculus (SC) contributes to determining the properties of primate saccadic eye movements. The site of collicular stimulation, the duration of the stimulation train, and the frequency of the stimulation train are each varied to examine the relative contributions of the locus, duration, and level of collicular activity to determining saccade amplitude, direction, duration, and velocity. 2. For any given site of stimulation, a relationship between movement amplitude and train duration can be demonstrated. Movement amplitude is a monotonically increasing, but saturating, function of increasing train duration. The size of the largest movement is dictated by the site of stimulation. Within the range over which amplitude can be modulated, movement offset is linked to the offset of the stimulation train. As a result, each decrement or increment in train duration produces a corresponding decrement or increment in movement duration. 3. The peak velocity of an evoked movement is influenced by the frequency of stimulation; a higher frequency of stimulation produces a movement of higher velocity. 4. The effects of train duration and frequency can be traded to produce movements that have comparable amplitudes but different dynamic characteristics; high-velocity movements of short duration and low-velocity movements of long duration can be produced by stimulating with high-frequency, short-duration, and low-frequency, long-duration trains, respectively. Across stimulation frequencies, the amplitude of an evoked movement is best related to the total number of pulses in the stimulation train. 5. Because it is possible to compensate for reduced velocity by increasing the duration of the stimulation train, the same site-specific maximum amplitude can be attained with different frequencies of stimulation. 6. Small, but significant, changes in movement direction occur as a result of varying train duration or train frequency. 7. The latency to movement onset (i.e., interval from stimulation onset to movement onset) depends upon the frequency of stimulation. A higher frequency of stimulation produces a movement of shorter latency. 8. These data demonstrate that both the site of stimulation and the parameters of stimulation contribute to determining the properties of a movement evoked from the primate SC. In doing so, they contradict the results of early microstimulation studies that suggest that the properties of eye movements evoked from the primate SC are determined solely by the site of stimulation. The findings conflict with the traditional view of collicular function that suggests that the collicular motor representation is purely anatomic. Rather, these data support a revised view whereby the locus, duration, and level of collicular activity contribute to determining the properties of a primate saccadic eye movement. According to this view, independent information relating to desired displacement and saccade velocity are extracted from the spatiotemporal profile of collicular activity.

Salience, saccades, and the role of cortex

1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-699
Author(s):  
Kathleen Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Cortical Level ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Walker’S Model ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Oculomotor Function ◽  
Saccade Generation

Findlay & Walker's target article proposes a model of saccade generation related to the underlying neuroscience. A problem with such models is the number of brain areas showing oculomotor function. Traditionally, therefore, models have been partial, usually concentrating either on cortex (Liu et al. 1997; Pierrot Deseilligny et al. 1995) or on the superior colliculus and brainstem circuits (Moschovakis 1994; Van Gisbergen et al. 1993). Findlay & Walker's model attempts to integrate both levels within a functional framework. To some extent it falls between two stools. For example, some functions that the authors ascribe to subcortical regions may actually occur at the cortical level.

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