Neural Activity Is Modulated by Trial History: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of the Effects of a Previous Antisaccade

Saccadic latencies are influenced by what occurred during the previous trial. When the previous trial is an antisaccade, the latencies of both prosaccades and antisaccades are prolonged. The aim of this study was to identify neural correlates of this intertrial effect of antisaccades. Specifically, based on both monkey electrophysiology and human neuroimaging findings, we expected trials preceded by antisaccades to be associated with reduced frontal eye field (FEF) activity relative to those preceded by prosaccades. Twenty-one healthy participants performed pseudorandom sequences of prosaccade and antisaccade trials during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with concurrent monitoring of eye position. We compared activity in trials preceded by an antisaccade with activity in trials preceded by a prosaccade. The primary result was that a previous antisaccade prolonged saccadic latency and reduced fMRI activity in the FEF and other regions. No regions showed increased activity. We interpret the reduced FEF activity and slower saccadic responses to reflect inhibitory influences on the response system as a consequence of performing an antisaccade in the previous trial. This demonstrates that neural activity is modulated by trial history, consistent with a rapid, dynamic form of learning. More generally, these results highlight the importance of trial history as a source of variability in both behavioral and neuroimaging studies.