Cortical and subcortical control of saccades

项目摘要 快速准确的眼球跳动对视力至关重要。因为现实世界的场景通常是 充斥着许多物体，扫视的一个基本要求是连续选择单个目标 从一个多个潜在目标的领域。眼跳目标选择由大脑皮层和 大脑皮质下区域，但我们仍然对这些区域的活动是如何协调的知之甚少。这 该项目研究了上丘(SC)、额叶眼场(FEF)和 背外侧前额叶皮质(DlPFC)。SC被认为是眼动指令的通道 从皮质到脑干，但SC活动的扰动不仅影响执行 眼跳；它们也影响眼动目标的选择。这提出了一个关键问题： SC只是在向下游发送扫视命令之前充当最终选择阶段，或者SC 活动影响大脑皮层的扫视决策？为了回答这个问题，我们将同时记录孤立的 Sc和FEF的神经元和局部场电位，并应用先进的分析技术来揭示 这两个领域之间的互动和可能的信息流。接下来，我们将扰乱SC中的活动 通过暂时停用它的一部分，并将确定选择相关活动是否以及如何在 FEF被更改。我们还将调查额叶皮质如何影响SC中的选择。具体地说，正面 区域dlPFC被认为对于基于抽象规则或内部目标的选择特别重要。我们 我将测试这一想法，并通过分析同时记录的活动来调查dlPFC对SC的影响 在这两个领域，在执行受规则管辖的和基于突出度的选择任务期间。最后，为了测试 作为与dlPFC的因果联系，我们将在dlPFC暂时停用时记录行为和SC活动。这个 结果不仅将提供有关眼跳决策的功能结构的新信息； 它们还将有助于更好地理解大脑皮质和皮质下区域是如何相互作用的 完成一项认知任务。

Project Summary Rapid and accurate saccadic eye movements are crucial for vision. Since real-world scenes are often crowded with many objects, a fundamental requirement for saccades is the serial selection of single targets from a field of multiple potential targets. Saccade target selection is subserved by a network of cortical and subcortical brain areas, but we still have little idea of how activity across these areas is coordinated. This project investigates the interactions among the superior colliculus (SC), the frontal eye field (FEF), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). The SC is regarded as the gateway for eye-movement commands from cortex to reach the brainstem, but perturbations in SC activity do not just affect the execution of saccades; they also influence the selection of eye-movement targets. This raises a key question: Does the SC simply act as a final selection stage before transmitting saccade commands downstream, or does SC activity influence saccadic decision-making in cortex? To answer this, we will simultaneously record isolated neurons and local field potentials from SC and FEF, and apply advanced analysis techniques to reveal the interactions and likely flow of information between these two areas. Next, we will perturb activity in the SC by temporarily inactivating a portion of it, and will determine whether and how selection-related activity in FEF is altered. We will also investigate how frontal cortex influences selection in the SC. Specifically, frontal area dlPFC is thought to be particularly important for selection based on abstract rules or internal goals. We will test this idea and investigate dlPFC's influence on the SC by analyzing simultaneously-recorded activity in the two areas during performance of rule-governed and salience-based selection tasks. Finally, to test for a causal link with dlPFC, we will record behavior and SC activity while dlPFC is temporarily inactivated. The results will not only provide new information about the functional architecture of saccadic decision-making; they will also lead toward a better understanding of how cortical and subcortical brain areas interact in performance of a cognitive task.