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Human fMRI evidence for the neural correlates of preparatory set

Nature Neuroscience volume 5, pages 1345–1352 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study readiness and intention signals in frontal and parietal areas that have been implicated in planning saccadic eye movements—the frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS). To track fMRI signal changes correlated with readiness to act, we used an event-related design with variable gap periods between disappearance of the fixation point and appearance of the target. To track changes associated with intention, subjects were instructed before the gap period to make either a pro-saccade (look at target) or an anti-saccade (look away from target). FEF activation increased during the gap period and was higher for anti- than for pro-saccade trials. No signal increases were observed during the gap period in the IPS. Our findings suggest that within the frontoparietal networks that control saccade generation, the human FEF, but not the IPS, is critically involved in preparatory set, coding both the readiness and intention to perform a particular movement.

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Figure 1: Gap paradigm for the event-related design, and the effect of gap duration on saccadic reaction time.
Figure 2: Pro-saccade localizer map used to identify the frontal eye fields (FEF) and the lateral intraparietal area (IPS).
Figure 3: Event-related time courses for the gap saccade task (solid lines, 4-s gap trials; dashed lines, 2-s gap trials; dotted lines, 0-s gap trials; blue lines, pro-saccades; red lines, anti-saccades).
Figure 4: Quantification of BOLD responses as a function of gap duration (a–c) and memory delay duration (d–f) (solid lines, FEF; dashed lines, IPS; blue lines, pro-saccades; red lines, anti-saccades).
Figure 5: Eye position traces recorded in the scanner during the combined anti-/pro-saccade task.
Figure 6: Event-related time courses for the memory-guided delay saccade task (solid lines, 4-s delay trials; dashed lines, 2-s delay trials; dotted lines, 0-s delay trials; blue lines, pro-saccades; red lines, anti-saccades).
Figure 7: Event-related time courses for the fixation control experiment (solid lines, 4-s gap trials; dashed lines, 2-s gap trials; dotted lines, 0-s gap trials; blue lines, pro-saccades; red lines, anti-saccades).

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Research Chairs Program. We thank J. Gati for assistance with the fMRI scanning. The Robarts Research Institute provided fMRI services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, CIHR Group on Action and Perception, University of Western Ontario, London, N6C 5C2, Ontario, Canada

    Jason D. Connolly & Melvyn A. Goodale

  2. Robarts Research Institute, Box 5015, 100 Perth Drive, London, N6A 5K8, Ontario, Canada

    Ravi S. Menon

  3. Department of Physiology, Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada

    Douglas P. Munoz

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Correspondence to Melvyn A. Goodale.

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Connolly, J., Goodale, M., Menon, R. et al. Human fMRI evidence for the neural correlates of preparatory set. Nat Neurosci 5, 1345–1352 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn969

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