The role of attention in the programming of saccades
Open accessAbstract
Accurate saccadic programming in natural visual scenes requires a signal designating which of the many potential targets is to be the goal of the saccade. Is this signal controlled by the allocation of perceptual attention, or do saccades have their own independent selective filter? We found evidence for the involvement of perceptual attention, namely: (1) summoning perceptual attention to a target also facilitated saccades; (2) perceptual identification was better at the saccadic goal than elsewhere; and (3) attempts to dissociate the locus of attention from the saccadic goal were unsuccessful, i.e. it was not possible to prepare to look quickly and accurately at one target while at the same time making highly accurate perceptual judgements about targets elsewhere. We also studied the trade-off between saccadic and perceptual performance by means of a novel application of the "attentional operating characteristic" (AOC) to oculomotor performance. This analysis revealed that some attention could be diverted from the saccadic goal with virtually no cost to either saccadic latency or accuracy, showing that there is a ceiling on the attentional demands of saccades. The links we discovered between saccades and attention can be explained by a model in which perceptual attention determines the endpoint of the saccade, while a separate trigger signal initiates the saccade in response to transient changes in the attentional locus. The model will be discussed in the context of current neurophysiological work on saccadic control.
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The measurement of eye movements allows the recording of all the temporal and spatial features of fixation and saccadic movements, which are considered a key part of the attentional mechanisms.
“In this line, the measurement of eye movements allows the recording of all the temporal and spatial features of fixation and saccadic movements, which are considered a key part of the attentional mechanisms,61”
From Effectiveness of a projection-based augmented reality exposure system in treating cockroach phobia: Study protocol of a randomised controlled trial (2023) · cites this paper as [61]
The Eye movement recording and Analysis of eye movement data sections describe recording eye position and measuring saccade onset, offset, and size. The General Discussion links accurate saccades to shifts of perceptual attention. The paper does not establish that eye-movement measurement captures all temporal and spatial features of both fixations and saccades; page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Kowler, E., Anderson, E., Dosher, B., & Blaser, E.
- Affiliations
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kowler, Eileen
- Venue
- Vision Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1995-07
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 1897-1916
- ISSN
- 0042-6989 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2088089777
- Cited by
- 1,302
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 52 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 53 · 2016: 64 · 2015: 57 · 2014: 66 · 2013: 53 · 2012: 51
- FWCI
- 9.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Vision Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Keywords
- saccades, perceptual attention, saccade latency, saccadic accuracy, perceptual identification, oculomotor performance
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Cues, Female, Humans, Models, Biological, Psychophysics, Saccades, Time Factors, Vision, Monocular
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