Disparity sensitivity of frontal eye field neurons

Information about depth is necessary to generate saccades to visual stimuli located in three-dimensional space. To determine whether monkey frontal ey e field (FEF) neurons play a role in the visuo-motor processes underlying t his behavior, we studied their visual responses to stimuli at different dis parities. Disparity sensitivity was tested from 3 degrees of crossed dispar ity (near) to 3 degrees degrees of uncrossed disparity (far). The responses of about two thirds of FEF visual and visuo-movement neurons were sensitiv e to disparity and showed a broad tuning in depth for near or far dispariti es. Early phasic and late tonic visual responses often displayed different disparity sensitivity. These findings provide evidence of depth-related sig nals in FEF and suggest a role for FEF in the control of disconjugate as we ll as conjugate eye movements.