Abstract
We discuss how a localized population of saccade-related cells in the superior colliculus (SC) encodes the vector for the upcoming gaze shift. We model the mechanism underlying the afferent complex-logarithmic SC motor map, and how the efferent projections of its cells to the brainstem contribute to encode the saccade, and the tuning characteristics of SC movement fields. We then present evidence that the firing rates of SC cells determine the saccade kinematics, such that the population effectively acts as the nonlinear vectorial pulse generator, hypothesized for the common-source control of eye–head gaze shifts. We show that a spatial gradient of peak firing rates along the rostral–caudal axis of the motor map, together with a fixed number of spikes in the burst, provide the nonlinear mechanism of the main sequence. Finally, we discuss the potential role of the midbrain inferior colliculus in spatial hearing, and how the tonotopic-to-spatial transformation in the auditory system might be understood.
Published Version
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