The frontal eye field and attention.

Abstract

Mammalian sensory systems must continuously select from the ongoing stream of stimulation the events to be noticed, filtering out or habituating to the insignificant. This selective noticing is the province of central mechanisms of orientation and attention that are represented in structures along the neuraxis from brainstem to neocortex. One of those structures is the frontal eye field, long known to be implicated in visual attention through its involvement in horizontal movements of the eyes. In this article, I review the relevant neuroanatomy and behavioral and electrophysiological research that decisively show that this small but complex region does more than regulate eye movements. Theories of frontal eye field function are considered, concluding with two contemporary views of attention, one based on arousal and the other on the processes of representation of stimulus input, that offer special promise for understanding the role of frontal cortex in the direction of attention. Arcuate sulcusv Central sulcus Central sulcus Coronal sulcus Anterior sigmoid gyrus Gyrus proreus Coronal sulcus Anterior sigmoid gyrus Presylvian sulcus

Reciprocal Connections between Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Lateral Posterior Nucleus in Rats

“…The present study has shown that the major visual-related tha lamic projection to PAGm originates largely from LP. This projection in rats resembles that from the medial subdivision of the pulvinar to the frontal eye fields in monkeys [Bos and Benevento, 1975;Kievit and Kuypers, 1977;Leichnetz, 1982;Crowne, 1983].…”

Neural Differences between Covert and Overt Attention Studied using EEG with Simultaneous Remote Eye Tracking

“…Human (Neggers et al, 2005) and monkey (Hanes and Wurtz, 2001) research suggests that frontal regions, particularly FEF are also involved in saccade inhibition through the SC. FEF stimulation can produce saccades towards the contralateral side (Blanke et al, 1999) and FEF lesions impair the ability to shift gaze to the contralateral side and can lead to neglect (e.g., Crowne, 1983). Thus frontal responses may be important indicators of both covert and overt attention.…”

Disrupting frontal eye-field activity impairs memory recall

“…The FEF is not only an important cortical area for planning, programming, and executing eye movements but it is also involved in cognitive mechanisms such as spatial priming, working memory, and memory search (see Vernet et al [4] for a review). Critically, the FEF is also prominently involved in spatial attention (see Crowne [21] for a review), and several studies suggest that both oculomotor and attentional mechanisms are supported by FEF neurons [22][23][24]. Thus, it is plausible that cTBS over the FEF also affected some of these cognitive functions, and this, in turn, contributed to impaired memory recall.…”