Combination of neuronal signals representing object-centered location and saccade direction in macaque supplementary eye field

Neurons in the macaque supplementary eye field (SEF) fire at different rates in conjunction with planning saccades in different directions. They also exhibit object-centered spatial selectivity, firing at different rates when the target of the saccade is at the left or right end of a horizontal bar. To compare the rate of incidence of the two kinds of signal, and to determine how they combine, we recorded from SEF neurons while monkeys performed a task in which the target (a dot or the left or right end of a horizontal bar) could appear in any visual field quadrant. During the period when the target was visible on the screen and the monkey was preparing to make a saccade, many neurons exhibited selectivity for saccade direction, firing at a rate determined by the direction of the impending saccade irrespective of whether the target was a dot or the end of a bar. On bar trials, many of the same neurons exhibited object-centered selectivity, firing more strongly when the target was at the preferred end of the bar regardless of saccade direction. The rate of incidence of object-centered selectivity (33%) was lower overall than that of saccade-direction selectivity (56%). Signals related to saccade direction and the object-centered location of the target tended to combine additively. The results suggest that the SEF is at a transitional stage between representing the object-centered command and specifying the parameters of the saccade.