Supplementary eye field contributions to the execution of saccades to remembered target locations

Abstract

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that an anatomically discrete region within the dorsal medial frontal cortex - the supplementary eye field (SEF) - is involved in oculomotor control. To delineate this role further, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS; 10 Hz, 500 ms) was administered either immediately after the presentation of three-step saccade sequences, or, immediately before response execution of memory-guided saccades. In addition, the effects of changes to visuospatial and temporal order demands were examined by contrasting performance in the presence and the absence of target location information. Results revealed that the SEF supports the processing of spatial information relevant to saccade amplitude. Independently of the time of stimulation, saccade gain was reduced by rTMS applied over the SEF, though only when response execution was performed in the absence of target location information. These results provide evidence of a causal role for the SEF in oculomotor control in the absence of visual feedback. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p