The frontal eye fields are in the frontal lobe, one in each hemisphere: a region around where the back of the middle frontal gyrus meets the precentral gyrus, inside Brodmann area 8, just in front of the premotor cortex. They start voluntary eye movements. [1][2]
The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the frontal eye fields are and what they do.
Opens cut by a front (coronal) slice through the middle frontal gyrus, which holds the frontal eye fields. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .
Lit: the whole middle frontal gyrus, on both sides. The area is part of this gyrus; its exact border is not drawn. The frontal eye field lies around the meeting point of the middle frontal gyrus with the precentral gyrus. The model draws the middle frontal gyrus as one shape, so the whole gyrus is lit; the precentral gyrus behind it is not. [1][3]
Takes part in: eye movements — see every part of each lit together.
Where it is
It is a region of the frontal cortex, in Brodmann area 8; in humans it lies around the intersection of the middle frontal gyrus with the precentral gyrus. [1]
Brodmann area 8 sits just in front of the premotor cortex (area 6) and includes the frontal eye fields. [2]
There is one frontal eye field in each hemisphere, and each one moves the eyes mainly toward the opposite side. [1]
What it does
It is responsible for voluntary eye movement and for saccades, the quick jumps of both eyes together from one point of focus to the next; the superior colliculus controls saccades from below the cortex. [1][4]
It is active when eye movements start, both voluntary saccades and smooth pursuit of a moving target. [1]
Electrical stimulation of the frontal eye field sets off saccades, and it holds a map of saccade targets laid out like the retina. [1]
It also plays an important role in visual attention, including covert attention (shifting attention to a place while the gaze stays put), through its two-way links with the visual cortex. [1]
Its earliest responses to something seen come about 45 ms after it appears, about as fast as the primary visual cortex; sounds reach it from about 24 ms. [1]
Connections
It reaches the extraocular muscles only indirectly, by way of the paramedian pontine reticular formation in the pons. [1]
With the supplementary eye fields, the intraparietal sulcus and the superior colliculus it is one of the most important areas for generating and controlling eye movements. [1]
A fast route from the superior colliculus through the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus brings signals up to it. [1]
Other names
Frontal eye fields, FEF; one side is the frontal eye field. [1]
Brodmann area 8 (BA8): the frontal eye fields lie inside it, but the area is larger than they are and is also active in planning complex movements. [2]
Size
The model has no shape for the frontal eye fields itself, so it is not measured here. The whole left middle frontal gyrus that holds it measures about 85 mm front to back, 62 mm top to bottom and 35 mm side to side on this model (the box it fits in, not its volume). [3]
Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); real brains vary in size and shape, so its measurements describe one model, not anyone’s brain.