Memory guided saccade deficit after caudate nucleus lesion

The role of the caudate nucleus in ocular motor control is not well determi ned in humans. Eye movements were recorded from a 45 year old man with infa rctions involving bilaterally the body of the caudate nucleus, with a great er extent on the left side. The patient exhibited a pattern of eye movement abnormalities in which a delay dependent decrease of accuracy of memory gu ided saccades predominated. By contrast, memory guided pointing was normal. It is concluded that the body of the caudate nucleus participates in a spa tial short term memory network devoted to eye movements.