Frontal eye fields

Function

The cortical area called the frontal eye field (FEF) plays an important role in the control of visual attention and eye movements. Electrical stimulation in the FEF elicits saccadic eye movements. The FEF have a topographic structure and represents saccade targets in retinotopic coordinates.

The frontal eye field is reported to be activated during the initiation of eye movements, such as voluntary saccades and pursuit eye movements. There is also evidence that it plays a role in purely sensory processing and that it belongs to a “fast brain” system through a superior colliculus – medial dorsal nucleus – FEF ascending pathway.

In humans, its earliest activations in regard to visual stimuli occur at 45 ms with activations related to changes in visual stimuli within 45–60 ms (these are comparable with response times in the primary visual cortex). This fast brain pathway also provides auditory input at even shorter times starting at 24 ms and being affected by auditory characteristics at 30–60 ms.

The FEF constitutes together with the supplementary eye fields (SEF), the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the superior colliculus (SC) one of the most important brain areas involved in the generation and control of eye movements, particularly in the direction contralateral to the frontal eye fields' location. In addition, FEF has an important role in the covert allocation of spatial attention through its reciprocal connectivity with visual cortex.