Microstimulation of V1 delays visually guided saccades : a parametric evaluation of delay fields

• Published in: Experimental brain research 2007, Vol.176 (3), p.413-424
• Main Authors: TEHOVNIK, Edward J, SLOCUM, Warren M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Biological and medical sciences; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Electric Stimulation - methods; Electrodes, Implanted; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision; Eye movements; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Laboratory animals; Macaca mulatta; Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration; Reaction Time - physiology; Reaction Time - radiation effects; Saccades; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Visual Cortex - physiology; Visual Cortex - radiation effects; Visual Fields - physiology; Visual Fields - radiation effects
• ISSN: 0014-4819; 1432-1106
• DOI: 10.1007/s00221-006-0625-1

Electrical microstimulation of macaque striate cortex (area V1) delays the execution of saccadic eye movements made to a visual target placed in the receptive field of the stimulated neurons. The region of visual space within which saccades are delayed is called a delay field. We examined the effects of changing the parameters of stimulation and target size on the size of a delay field. Rhesus monkeys were required to generate a saccadic eye movement to a punctate and white visual target presented within or outside the receptive field of the neurons under study. On 50% of trials, a train of stimulation consisting of 0.2-ms anode-first pulses was delivered to the neurons before the onset of the visual target. Stimulations were performed in the operculum at 0.9-2.0 mm below the cortical surface. It was found that increases in current (50-100 microA), pulse frequency (100-300 Hz), or train duration (75-300 ms) increased the size of a delay field and increases in target size (0.1 degrees -0.2 degrees of visual angle) decreased the size of a delay field. Delay fields varied in size between 0.1 and 0.6 degrees of visual angle. These results are related to the properties of phosphenes induced by electrical stimulation of V1 in humans and compared to the interference effects observed following transcranial magnetic stimulation of human V1.