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Cited by 71Primate Behavior and EcologyNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesFace Recognition and Perception

Pupil size and social vigilance in rhesus macaques

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Ebitz, R. Becket, Pearson, John M., Platt, Michael L.·2014·Frontiers in Neuroscience
DOI 10.3389/fnins.2014.00100PMC PMC4018547
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Abstract

Complex natural environments favor the dynamic alignment of neural processing between goal-relevant stimuli and conflicting but biologically salient stimuli like social competitors or predators. The biological mechanisms that regulate dynamic changes in vigilance have not been fully elucidated. Arousal systems that ready the body to respond adaptively to threat may contribute to dynamic regulation of vigilance. Under conditions of constant luminance, pupil diameter provides a peripheral index of arousal state. Although pupil size varies with the processing of goal-relevant stimuli, it remains unclear whether pupil size also predicts attention to biologically salient objects and events like social competitors, whose presence interferes with current goals. Here we show that pupil size in rhesus macaques both reflects the biological salience of task-irrelevant social distractors and predicts vigilance for these stimuli. We measured pupil size in monkeys performing a visual orienting task in which distractors-monkey faces and phase-scrambled versions of the same images-could appear in a congruent, incongruent, or neutral position relative to a rewarded target. Baseline pupil size under constant illumination predicted distractor interference, consistent with the hypothesis that pupil-linked arousal mechanisms regulate task engagement and distractibility. Notably, pupil size also predicted enhanced vigilance for social distractors, suggesting that pupil-linked arousal may adjust the balance of processing resources between goal-relevant and biologically important stimuli. The magnitude of pupil constriction in response to distractors closely tracked distractor interference, saccade planning and the social relevance of distractors, endorsing the idea that the pupillary light response is modulated by attention. These findings indicate that pupil size indexes dynamic changes in attention evoked by both the social environment and arousal.

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  • Increases in arousal (as measured by pupil diameter) increased the ability of a distractor to disrupt performance on a Go/No-Go saccade task in primates.

    “At the high end of the arousal-performance relationship, increases in arousal (as measured by pupil diameter) increased the ability of a distractor (e.g. a flashed picture of a monkey face on the screen during the delay period) to disrupt performance on a Go/No-Go saccade task in primates (Ebitz et al., 2014).”

    From Waking state: rapid variations modulate neural and behavioral responses (2015) · cites this paper as Ebitz et al., 2014

  • The ability of primates to perform a delayed saccade to target task was optimal at intermediate pupil diameters, with degradation at either low or high arousal.

    “Finally, the ability of primates to perform a delayed saccade to target task was optimal at intermediate pupil diameters, with degradation in performance at either low or high levels of arousal (Ebitz et al., 2014).”

    From Waking state: rapid variations modulate neural and behavioral responses (2015) · cites this paper as Ebitz et al., 2014

  • For at least some studies, optimal performance may occur at intermediate levels of arousal.

    “Together, these studies suggest that for at least some studies, optimal performance may occur at intermediate levels of arousal (see Figure 2A in (Ebitz et al., 2014)).”

    From Waking state: rapid variations modulate neural and behavioral responses (2015) · cites this paper as Ebitz et al., 2014

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Authors
Ebitz, R. B., Pearson, J. M., & Platt, M. L.
Affiliations
Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Ebitz, R. Becket
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Neuroscience
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2014-05-06
Volume
8
Pages
100-100
ISSN
1662-453X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fnins.2014.00100
PMC
PMC4018547
OpenAlex
W2096435716
Cited by
71
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1
FWCI
9.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Defense (W81XWH1110584, W81XWH-11-1-, W81XWH)
  • National Institutes of Health (W81XWH)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH086712, R01MH089484, R01MH095894)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
pupil size, social vigilance, rhesus monkeys, arousal, pupillary light reflex, visual attention, distractor interference, saccade planning, goal-directed behavior, visual orienting

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