Structure and function of the visual fixation system

Research Project

Project/Area Number	15K06702
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
Research Institution	Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Principal Investigator	IZAWA Yoshiko 東京医科歯科大学, 大学院医歯学総合研究科, 講師 (40372453)
Project Period (FY)	2015-10-21 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
Keywords	前頭眼野 / 上丘 / 眼球運動 / 注視 / 頭部運動 / 随伴発射
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We recorded the activity of fixation neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF) in trained monkeys and analyzed their activity during smooth pursuit eye movements. Fixation neurons were densely located in the area of the FEF in the caudal part of the arcuate gyrus facing the inferior arcuate sulcus where focal electrical stimulation suppressed the generation of saccades and smooth pursuit in bilateral directions at an intensity lower than the threshold for eliciting electrically evoked saccades. Of the fixation neurons we recorded, more than two-thirds were found to show a reduction in activity during smooth pursuit in the ipsilateral and bilateral directions.