41 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
E. Mandonnet, G. Herbet (eds.), Intraoperative Mapping of Cognitive Networks,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75071-8_3
G. Herbet (*)
Department of Neurosurgery, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier & Institute of Functional
Genomics, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
e-mail: guillaume.herbet@igf.cnrs.fr
3
Frontal Eye Fields
Guillaume Herbet
3.1 Anatomy and Connectivity of FEFs
3.1.1 Physiological Definition and Brief Historical Background
The frontal eye feld is defned physiologically as a restrict area of the primate’s
posterior prefrontal cortex whose low-intensity electrostimulation is associated
with involuntary ocular movements [1, 2]. Such observation go back far into the
past; indeed, David Ferrier [3] was the frst to report that, in some animals (includ-
ing monkeys), stimulating an area situated in the posterior half of the superior and
middle frontal cortex caused head and eye movements to the opposite side as well
as dilatation of pupils in some cases. Since that time, the fnding of a frontal ocular
area has been widely replicated, frst in lower and higher primates (e.g., [4, 5]) and
then in humans in the context of neurosurgery. On the latter point, Foerster [6, 7]
found conjugate horizontal deviation of the eyes to the opposite side, and sometimes
upward deviation, in response to stimulation of the posteriormost portion of the
middle frontal gyrus. Likewise, Penfeld and collaborators [8, 9] not only confrmed
that applying stimulation on the posterior part of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
(caudal part of the mid-lateral area according to the authors) caused “adversive
movements” of the eyes toward and upward the hemisphere contralateral to the
stimulation, but also reported that epileptic discharges in areas situated in or in the
vicinity of the ocular frontal areas replicated some of the clinical observations
evoked during stimulation, including eye movements [10]. Penfeld and associates
also identifed eye-related areas in other frontal structures, including the precentral
gyrus [9].