Behavioral paradigm illustrating the experimental antisaccade paradigm.

<p>(<i>Upper panel)</i> Antisaccade paradigm practiced by the two monkeys under the online impact of sham (left panel) or active (right panel) TMS single pulses. After fixating on a central stimulus (red), monkeys were to initiate a fast saccade to a location in the opposite direction with respect to a peripheral target (green) appearing on the screen, simultaneously (no gap) to the disappearance of the central fixation. Animals performed within each block, no-TMS trials (white small rectangles) yielding no stimulation at all (Upper Left) and TMS trials (grey small rectangles) during which a single TMS pulse was delivered at a given postarget onset SOA prior to the AS initiation, to modulate the planning of visually guided oculomotor activity <i>(Bottom panel)</i> Example of an experimental session. Animals performed a total of 4 blocks of AS training per session. In one of the blocks they did not receive TMS (white long rectangle), whereas in the remaining 3, they received in half of the trials TMS pulses (see long grey-filled rectangles) at one of the 3 intensities used in the study (30%, 40% and 50%). The order of the four blocks (3 TMS blocks at 30%, 40% or 50% absolute TMS intensities and 1 noTMS block) was randomized within each session. Monkeys performed 100 trials per block (50 no-TMS and 50 TMS trials) for a total of 400 trials per session, and received 50 pulses per TMS block (i.e., only in 50% of the trials), amounting to 150 pulses per experimental session. Independent sessions comprising active TMS pulses delivered at 100 ms or 150 ms SOA post target onset on the FEF, sham TMS pulses and active TMS stimulation in a control location were carried over.