Electrical microstimulation suggests two different forms of representation of head-centered space in the intraparietal sulcus of rhesus monkeys

Abstract

We examined the effects of eye position on saccades evoked by electrical stimulation of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) of rhesus monkeys. Microstimulation evoked saccades from sites on the posterior bank, floor, and the medial bank of the IPS. The size and direction of the eye movements varied as a function of initial eye position before microstimulation. At many stimulation sites, eye position affected primarily the amplitude and not the direction of the evoked saccades. These "modified vector saccades" were characteristic of most stimulation-sensitive zones in the IPS, with the exception of a narrow strip located mainly on the floor of the sulcus. Stimulation in this "intercalated zone" evoked saccades that moved the eyes into a particular region in head-centered space, independent of the starting position of the eyes. This latter response is compatible with the stimulation site representing a goal zone in head-centered coordinates. On the other hand, the modified vector saccades observed outside the intercalated zone are indicative of a more distributed representation of head-centered space. A convergent projection from many modified vector sites onto each intercalated site may be a basis for a transition from a distributed to a more explicit representation of space in head-centered coordinates.