Journal of neurophysiology
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We studied the effects of unilateral frontal eye-field (FEF) lesions on eye-head coordination in monkeys that were trained to perform a visual search task. Eye and head movements were recorded with the scleral search coil technique using phase angle detection in a homogeneous electromagnetic field. In the visual search task all three animals showed a neglect for stimuli presented in the field contralateral to the lesion. ⋯ The neglect is not due to a sensory deficit, but to a disorder of programming. The recovery from unilateral neglect after a FEF lesion is the result of a different orienting behavior, in which head movements become more important. It is concluded that the FEF plays an important role in the organization and coordination of eye and head movements and that lesions of this area result in subtle but permanent changes in eye-head coordination.