Directional prediction by the saccadic system

Current Biology : CB
Andrew J AndersonR H S Carpenter

Abstract

One popular and fruitful approach to understanding what influences the decision of where to look next has been to present targets in a series of trials either to the right or left of a central fixation point and examine sequential effects on saccadic latency. However, there is a problem with this paradigm: Every saccade to a target is necessarily followed by an equal and opposite movement back to the center, yet the potentially confounding influence of this refixation saccade is rarely considered. Here, we introduce a novel random-walk paradigm that eliminates this difficulty. Each successive target appears to the left or right of the previous one, allowing us to study long sequences of saccades uncontaminated by refixations. This exposes a new stimulus-history effect, which is remarkably prolonged and relates primarily to movement direction: A saccade reduces the latency for subsequent movements made in the same direction and retards those in the opposite direction. Although in conventional refixation paradigms this effect cancels out, it is of particular significance in the real world--where our fixation point shifts constantly with the object of interest--and reflects a prediction of the way that real objects typically move.

References

Nov 1, 1989·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance·R D RafalT K Sciolto
Apr 11, 2001·Psychological Science·P J Bennett, J Pratt
Jun 20, 2003·Journal of Neurophysiology·B A J ReddiR H S Carpenter
Jul 10, 2004·Experimental Brain Research·Jillian H FecteauDouglas P Munoz
Jul 26, 2005·Experimental Brain Research·Peter H Schiller, Johannes Haushofer
Oct 12, 2005·Biological Psychology·Benedikt ReuterNorbert Kathmann
Aug 10, 2006·Journal of Vision·Andrew J Anderson, R H S Carpenter

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Citations

Jan 19, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Simon FarrellIain D Gilchrist
Sep 25, 2009·Journal of Neurophysiology·Raquel Bibi, Jay A Edelman
Jan 24, 2013·PLoS Computational Biology·Niklas WilmingPeter König
Aug 13, 2011·Attention, Perception & Psychophysics·Tim J Smith, John M Henderson
Mar 26, 2014·Experimental Brain Research·Andrew J AndersonR H S Carpenter
Apr 4, 2012·Vision Research·Eugene McSorleyClare Lyne
Jun 13, 2009·Cognitive Psychology·Casimir J H LudwigIain D Gilchrist
Nov 13, 2014·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience·Stephanie A H JonesDavid A Westwood
Dec 27, 2019·PloS One·Christian Wolf, Alexander C Schütz
Jun 9, 2017·Journal of Neurophysiology·Geoffrey MegardonPetroc Sumner
Apr 22, 2021·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Giuseppe Notaro, Uri Hasson

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