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Frontal Eye Field Inactivation Diminishes Superior Colliculus Activity, But Delayed Saccadic Accumulation Governs Reaction Time Increases

Stochastic accumulator models provide a comprehensive framework for how neural activity could produce behavior. Neural activity within the frontal eye fields (FEFs) and intermediate layers of the superior colliculus (iSC) support such models for saccade initiation by relating variations in saccade reaction time (SRT) to variations in such parameters as baseline, rate of accumulation of activity, and threshold. Here, by recording iSC activity during reversible cryogenic inactivation of the FEF in four male nonhuman primates, we causally tested which parameter(s) best explains concomitant increases in SRT. While FEF inactivation decreased all aspects of ipsilesional iSC activity, decreases in accumulation rate and threshold poorly predicted accompanying increases in SRT. Instead, SRT increases best correlated with delays in the onset of saccade-related accumulation. We conclude that FEF signals govern the onset of saccade-related accumulation within the iSC, and that the onset of accumulation is a relevant parameter for stochastic accumulation models of saccade initiation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The superior colliculus (SC) and frontal eye fields (FEFs) are two of the best-studied areas in the primate brain. Surprisingly, little is known about what happens in the SC when the FEF is temporarily inactivated. Here, we show that temporary FEF inactivation decreases all aspects of functionally related activity in the SC. This combination of techniques also enabled us to relate changes in SC activity to concomitant increases in saccadic reaction time (SRT). Although stochastic accumulator models relate SRT increases to reduced rates of accumulation or increases in threshold, such changes were not observed in the SC. Instead, FEF inactivation delayed the onset of saccade-related accumulation, emphasizing the importance of this parameter in biologically plausible models of saccade initiation.