Self-control during response conflict by human supplementary eye field

Although medial frontal cortex is considered to have an important role in planning behavior and monitoring errors, the specific contributions of regions within it are poorly understood1,2,3. Here we report that a patient with a highly selective lesion of a medial frontal motor area—the supplementary eye field (SEF)—lacked control in changing the direction of his eye movement from either a previous intention or behavioral 'set'; however, he monitored his errors well and corrected them quickly. The results indicate a key new role for the SEF and show that medial frontal mechanisms for self-control of action may be highly specific, with the SEF critically involved in implementing oculomotor control during response conflict, but not in error monitoring.