Abstract
We present a model of the eye movement system in which the programming of an eye movement is the result of the competitive integration of information in the superior colliculi (SC). This brain area receives input from occipital cortex, the frontal eye fields, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, on the basis of which it computes the location of the next saccadic target. Two critical assumptions in the model are that cortical inputs are not only excitatory, but can also inhibit saccades to specific locations, and that the SC continue to influence the trajectory of a saccade while it is being executed. With these assumptions, we account for many neurophysiological and behavioral findings from eye movement research. Interactions within the saccade map are shown to account for effects of distractors on saccadic reaction time (SRT) and saccade trajectory, including the global effect and oculomotor capture. In addition, the model accounts for express saccades, the gap effect, saccadic reaction times for antisaccades, and recorded responses from neurons in the SC and frontal eye fields in these tasks.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Jeff Schall and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This research benefited from Grant 402-01-630-PROG and a VENI Grant to MM, both from NWO (Netherlands organization for Scientific Research), and from a grant from the Human Frontier Science Program (HSFP-RGP39/2005) to JT.
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Meeter, M., Van der Stigchel, S. & Theeuwes, J. A competitive integration model of exogenous and endogenous eye movements. Biol Cybern 102, 271–291 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-010-0365-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-010-0365-y