Neural correlates of perisaccadic visual mislocalization in extrastriate cortex

When interacting with the visual world using saccadic eye movements (saccades), the perceived location of visual stimuli becomes biased, a phenomenon called perisaccadic mislocalization. However, the neural mechanism underlying this altered visuospatial perception and its potential link to other perisaccadic perceptual phenomena have not been established. Using the electrophysiological recording of extrastriate areas in four male macaque monkeys, combined with a computational model, we were able to quantify spatial bias around the saccade target (ST) based on the perisaccadic dynamics of extrastriate spatiotemporal sensitivity captured by a statistical model. This approach could predict the perisaccadic spatial bias around the ST, consistent with behavioral data, and revealed the precise neuronal response components underlying representational bias. These findings also establish the crucial role of increased sensitivity near the ST for neurons with receptive fields far from the ST in driving the ST spatial bias. Moreover, we showed that, by allocating more resources for visual target representation, visual areas enhance their representation of the ST location, even at the expense of transient distortions in spatial representation. This potential neural basis for perisaccadic ST representation also supports a general role for extrastriate neurons in creating the perception of stimulus location. The neural basis of perisaccadic changes in spatial perception is unknown. Here, the authors reveal a potential neural basis for the perisaccadic bias in perceived location linked to saccade target representational enhancement in extrastriate areas.