.) In the primate two major parallel pathways, one involving the frontal eye fields and the other the posterior cortex and the superior colliculus, have been shown to be involved in the generation of visually guided saccadic eye movement. Recently another area has been implicated in visually guided eye movement control. This area, which resides in dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC), is unlike the frontal eye fields and the superior colliculus in that it appears to code saccadic eye movements utilizing a spatial coordinate system, a code that is capable of undergoing organization changes as a result of prolonged training on various eye-movement tasks. The purpose of the proposed work is to characterize the functional organization of DMFC; to establish how and to what extent this area is subject to organizational changes as a function of specific visually guided eye movement tasks; to determine how the area relates to the previously identified two parallel pathways of visually guided eye movement control; and to uncover what deficits arise in the execution of visually guided eye movements as a result of inactivation or damage to this area. Behavioral, physiological, lesion, anatomical, and modeling methods will be used to answer these questions. The work, which will be carried out in rhesus monkeys, whose visual and oculomotor systems are similar to that of man, should provide new understanding of the neural structures and neural circuits involved in the control of visually guided eye movements.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY008502-03
Application #
3265825
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1991-01-01
Project End
1995-12-31
Budget Start
1993-01-01
Budget End
1993-12-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1993
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02139
Tehovnik, Edward J; Slocum, Warren M; Smirnakis, Stelios M et al. (2009) Microstimulation of visual cortex to restore vision. Prog Brain Res 175:347-75
Zhang, Ying; Schiller, Peter H (2008) The effect of overall stimulus velocity on motion parallax. Vis Neurosci 25:3-15
Schiller, Peter H; Slocum, Warren M; Weiner, Veronica S (2007) How the parallel channels of the retina contribute to depth processing. Eur J Neurosci 26:1307-21
Zhang, Ying; Weiner, Veronica S; Slocum, Warren M et al. (2007) Depth from shading and disparity in humans and monkeys. Vis Neurosci 24:207-15
Tehovnik, Edward J; Slocum, Warren M (2007) What delay fields tell us about striate cortex. J Neurophysiol 98:559-76
Chen, L Longtang; Tehovnik, Edward J (2007) Cortical control of eye and head movements: integration of movements and percepts. Eur J Neurosci 25:1253-64
Schiller, Peter H; Carvey, Christina E (2006) Demonstrations of spatiotemporal integration and what they tell us about the visual system. Perception 35:1521-55
Tehovnik, E J; Tolias, A S; Sultan, F et al. (2006) Direct and indirect activation of cortical neurons by electrical microstimulation. J Neurophysiol 96:512-21
Schiller, Peter H; Haushofer, Johannes (2005) What is the coordinate frame utilized for the generation of express saccades in monkeys? Exp Brain Res 167:178-86
Tehovnik, E J; Slocum, W M; Carvey, C E et al. (2005) Phosphene induction and the generation of saccadic eye movements by striate cortex. J Neurophysiol 93:1-19

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