Spatial distribution and discharge characteristics of superior colliculus neurons antidromically activated from the omnipause region in monkey.

One proposed role of the superior colliculus (SC) in oculomotor control is to suppress or excite the activity of brain stem omnipause neurons (OPNs) to initiate or terminate saccades, respectively. Although connections from the SC to the OPNs have been demonstrated, the spatial distribution and discharge characteristics of the projecting neurons from the SC remain unknown. We mapped the spatial distribution of the deeper-layer neurons of the SC by stimulating the region of the OPNs to identify antidromic projections and found that the density of direct projections from the SC to the OPNs was greatest in the most rostral region and decreased gradually for more caudal sites. On the basis of saccade-related discharge characteristics, the antidromically driven neurons were predominantly fixation and buildup neurons. The spatially distributed SC projections to the OPNs and the discharge characteristics of the SC neurons suggest that the direct projections from SC to OPNs are excitatory. Finally, we propose how excitation and disfacilitation from SC activity can contribute to modulation of OPN response and control saccades.