Temporal encoding for the control of saccades.

Pre-motor circuitry responsible for the spatial to temporal transformation in the saccadic eye movement system is modelled using gaussian random variables. Eighty percent of the time between stimulus onset and the end of a saccade is spent with the eyes stationary. This time span is when the brain converts the spatial orientation of the visual stimulus into a temporal code for controlling the duration of the high frequency burst of neural activity innervating the eye muscles. This system controls saccades accurately from all different initial positions. Therefore, a ten degree saccade can have durations varying two-fold depending on the eye's initial position in the orbit, and yet the brain centers receiving the visual input are innervated by the same group of neurons for all ten degree saccades. Multiple and double-step stimulus activity is also investigated. This hypothetical model includes neural pathways from the retina, longitudinal geniculate nucleus, superior colliculus, frontal eye fields, striate cortex and the cerebellum.