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Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on June 15, 2005
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhi122
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Published by Oxford University Press 2005.

Article

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Prevents Short-latency Saccade and Vergence: a TMS Study

Olivier A. Coubard 1* and Zoï Kapoula 1

1 Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action; UMR 7152 CNRS-Collège de France; 11, place Marcelin Berthelot; 75005 Paris; France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Olivier A. Coubard, E-mail: olivier.coubard{at}college-de-france.fr


  Abstract

This study explores whether vergence eye movements along the median plane can be triggered with short latencies, and the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in controlling such movements. We used a gap paradigm and applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 10 humans making saccades or vergence. TMS over the motor cortex had no effect on any eye movement parameter. TMS over DLPFC influenced eye movement initiation but not their metrics. TMS over the right DLPFC accelerated the triggering of saccades bilaterally but did not influence divergence. TMS over the left DLPFC speeded up the triggering of ipsilateral saccades and exacerbated the anticipatory mode of triggering of divergence. For convergence, TMS effects were mild: rightward TMS increased the proportion of short latencies but failed to shorten the group mean latency; leftward TMS influenced triggering in some individuals only. For saccades and convergence under TMS, some subjects showed an emerging population of short latencies in their latency distribution. Horizontal saccadic intrusions (80% of trials) and vertical saccades (recorded in one subject) intruding on vergence were unlikely to assist vergence triggering. We conclude that the prefrontal mechanisms underlying voluntary eye movement control are similar for saccades and vergence although some specificities exist.

Keywords: direction and depth eye movements; eye movement control; hemispheric asymmetry; human; inhibition; prefrontal cortex.
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