TMS of cortical eye fields modulates the triggering of saccades via the "preparatory set activity"

Background: The generation of saccades is influenced by the level of "preparatory set activity" in cortical oculomotor areas. This preparatory activity can be examined using the gap-paradigm in which a temporal gap is introduced between the disappearance of a central fixation target and the appearance of an eccentric target. Methods: Ten healthy subjects made horizontal pro- or antisaccades in response to lateralized cues after a gap period of 200ms. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), frontal eye field (FEF), or supplementary eye field…