Control of eye movements and spatial attention

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Jan 30;98(3):1273-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.3.1273. Epub 2001 Jan 16.

Abstract

Several lines of evidence suggest that planning eye movements and directing visuospatial attention share overlapping brain mechanisms. This study tested whether spatial attention can be enhanced by altering oculomotor signals within the brain. Monkeys performed a spatial attention task while neurons within the frontal eye field, an oculomotor area within prefrontal cortex, were electrically stimulated below the level at which eye movements are evoked. We found that we could improve the monkey's performance with microstimulation when, but only when, the object to be attended was positioned in the space represented by the cortical stimulation site.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Blinking
  • Brain Mapping
  • Conditioning, Psychological
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Eye Movements / physiology*
  • Fixation, Ocular
  • Haplorhini
  • Neurons / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology*
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Visual Fields