<p>As @AliceD pointed out in her comment, the concept of output of the brain is too broad. If you are interested in how eye movements are generated, I suggest you read about the <a href="http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Frontal_eye_field" rel="nofollow noreferrer">frontal eye fields</a>(FEF). This area of the prefrontal cortex is very closely related with the generation of eye movements, or saccades. However, its function is still not entirely clear. It participates in the generation of saccades, but also in the sensory processing and decision making.</p>

<p>Anatomically, the connections of the FEF are shown in the scholarpedia article I linked above, but I'll also copy it here.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DZ2Zy.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DZ2Zy.png" alt="FEF anatomic connections"></a></p>

<p>Your question, however, seems to assume that the information in the brain has a definite bottom-up direction, which somewhat neglecks the fact that brain regions have abundant recurrent and top-down connections. This is part of the reason FEF is involved both in motor, perceptual and higher cognitive processing. Nevertheless, you should take a look at the <a href="http://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s3/chapter03.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">motor cortex</a>, that will give you some insight to which brain regions are associated to motor commands, i.e. outputs.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-20T18:48:56.313Z
2017-01-22T22:33:55.110Z
2017-01-22T22:33:55.110Z
lucianopaz
<p>I am interested in the general electrical flow through the brain and found <a href="https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/10554/flow-diagram-of-how-information-flows-through-the-brain">this</a> very useful answer highlighting a good amount of it, but what I can't seem get any detailed visuals for on Google anywhere is where the outputs of the brain come from. (The one in the link is super simplified)</p>

<p>For example, where and how do the muscle outputs for eye come from after passing through the complex visual cortex(es). There are tons of visuals <a href="http://www.gridgit.com/postpic/2015/04/visual-cortex-diagram-and-functions_120922.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">displaying the crossing inputs</a>, but nothing for the outputs. Ideally, I would like to have clear visuals for all the output pathways.</p>

<p>Does the information processing happen slowly outwards toward the grey matter and at the point of the grey matter these outputs get combined into nerve pathways down the side of the brain or does the brains output appear to be travelling back parallel down along the inputs?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-18T22:40:09.570Z
This question is too broad. If you would confine it to eye musculature I think it would make a great question.
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-19T13:46:19.387Z
I'm not entirely sure what you are after? Are you looking for what initiates an eye movement?
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-19T19:34:11.670Z
@AliceD So where would i find such a diagram highlighting where the brain outputs to the eye muscles come from?
shishkebab
<neuroanatomy>
Direction of electrical information flow in the brain (and output locations)
shishkebab
# Direction of electrical information flow in the brain (and output locations)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-01-18)

I am interested in the general electrical flow through the brain and found [this](https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/10554/flow-diagram-of-how-information-flows-through-the-brain) very useful answer highlighting a good amount of it, but what I can't seem get any detailed visuals for on Google anywhere is where the outputs of the brain come from. (The one in the link is super simplified)

For example, where and how do the muscle outputs for eye come from after passing through the complex visual cortex(es). There are tons of visuals [displaying the crossing inputs](http://www.gridgit.com/postpic/2015/04/visual-cortex-diagram-and-functions_120922.jpg), but nothing for the outputs. Ideally, I would like to have clear visuals for all the output pathways.

Does the information processing happen slowly outwards toward the grey matter and at the point of the grey matter these outputs get combined into nerve pathways down the side of the brain or does the brains output appear to be travelling back parallel down along the inputs?

**Tags:** neuroanatomy

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This question is too broad. If you would confine it to eye musculature I think it would make a great question.  
> **username_2**: I'm not entirely sure what you are after? Are you looking for what initiates an eye movement?  
> **username_0**: @username_1 So where would i find such a diagram highlighting where the brain outputs to the eye muscles come from?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-01-20. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

As @username_1 pointed out in her comment, the concept of output of the brain is too broad. If you are interested in how eye movements are generated, I suggest you read about the [frontal eye fields](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Frontal_eye_field)(FEF). This area of the prefrontal cortex is very closely related with the generation of eye movements, or saccades. However, its function is still not entirely clear. It participates in the generation of saccades, but also in the sensory processing and decision making.

Anatomically, the connections of the FEF are shown in the scholarpedia article I linked above, but I'll also copy it here.

[![FEF anatomic connections](https://i.sstatic.net/DZ2Zy.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/DZ2Zy.png)

Your question, however, seems to assume that the information in the brain has a definite bottom-up direction, which somewhat neglecks the fact that brain regions have abundant recurrent and top-down connections. This is part of the reason FEF is involved both in motor, perceptual and higher cognitive processing. Nevertheless, you should take a look at the [motor cortex](http://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s3/chapter03.html), that will give you some insight to which brain regions are associated to motor commands, i.e. outputs.


---

