Cortical area · one in each half of the brain
Caudal middle frontal gyrus
Also called Frontal eye field region, Part of the premotor cortex
Where you aim your eyes and ready your hands: home of the frontal eye field.
The caudal middle frontal gyrus is the back part of the middle ridge of the frontal lobe, just in front of the motor strip. It contains much of the frontal eye field, which moves your eyes on purpose to look at what you choose. It also holds part of the premotor cortex, which gets movements ready, especially reaching toward things you see.
Where it is
On the outer side of the frontal lobe, in the middle ridge, just in front of the motor strip and roughly above your temple.
What it does
Aiming your eyes
Its frontal eye field launches the quick eye jumps, called saccades, that you use to look at something on purpose.
Steering attention
It can shift your attention to a spot even without moving your eyes, like watching someone out of the corner of your eye.
Preparing movements
Its premotor part gets movements ready, such as reaching for a cup you have just spotted.
Linking sights to actions
It helps connect what you see to what you should do, like stopping when a traffic light turns red.
Think of it as a camera operator and stage manager: it points your eyes where the action is and gets your hands ready to move.
Works with
- Superior colliculusIt sends eye-movement commands to this midbrain hub, which helps fire off the quick eye jumps.
- Superior parietal lobuleTogether they form an attention network that decides where to look next.
- Primary motor cortexIt passes movement plans to the primary motor cortex just behind it.
- Dorsolateral prefrontal cortexIts neighbor in front supplies the goals that decide what is worth looking at.
- Caudate nucleusA loop through the caudate helps it choose which eye movement to make.
When it goes wrong
Eyes drifting to one side
After a stroke here, the eyes often drift toward the side of the damage for a while, because the eye field on the healthy side is no longer balanced. This usually improves over days to weeks.
Turning seizures
A seizure starting near here can force the eyes and head to turn away from the affected side.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- Your eyes make several quick jumps every second, and you almost never notice them. You see little or nothing during each jump, so the world looks steady instead of blurry.
- Gently stimulating the frontal eye field in monkeys makes them better at noticing things at the matching spot, even when their eyes do not move. It works like an attention spotlight.
Where the name comes from
"Caudal" comes from the Latin "cauda", meaning tail, so it means toward the back. This is the rear part of the middle frontal gyrus.
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the caudal middle frontal gyrus?
Show the answer
Aiming your eyes. Its frontal eye field launches the quick eye jumps, called saccades, that you use to look at something on purpose.
Aiming your eyes. Its frontal eye field launches the quick eye jumps, called saccades, that you use to look at something on purpose.
The caudal middle frontal gyrus is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Prefrontal cortex. It belongs to the prefrontal cortex.
Prefrontal cortex. It belongs to the prefrontal cortex.
Which part fits this description? "Like a camera operator and stage manager: it points your eyes where the action is and gets your hands ready to move."
Show the answer
Caudal middle frontal gyrus. It is the caudal middle frontal gyrus. Where you aim your eyes and ready your hands: home of the frontal eye field.
Caudal middle frontal gyrus. It is the caudal middle frontal gyrus. Where you aim your eyes and ready your hands: home of the frontal eye field.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Neural Control of Saccadic Eye Movements, Neuroscience, 2nd edition (Purves et al.), NCBI Bookshelf
- 19.4 What is the Relationship between Attention and Eye Movements?, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
- Physiology, Motor Cortex, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
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