Cite as:
Gersch T M, Schnitzer B S, Sanghvi P S, Dosher B, Kowler E, 2005, "Attentional enhancement along the path of a sequence of saccades" Perception 34 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Attentional enhancement along the path of a sequence of saccades

T M Gersch, B S Schnitzer, P S Sanghvi, B Dosher, E Kowler

Attention during saccadic scanning is focused on the upcoming saccadic target, to the exclusion of other locations, in order to ensure accurate execution of the eye movement (Gersch et al, 2004 Vision Research 44 1469 - 1483). In natural scanning, however, it may be valuable to be able to attend to locations other than the next target. To examine the nature and breadth of attentional allocation during the performance of saccadic sequences, a dual-task paradigm was used in which a visual test stimulus (Gabor patch) was presented briefly during selected intersaccadic pauses. The display was a 5 × 5 array of 1 deg coloured outline circles. Beginning at one of the 4 sides of the array, a sequence of 5 oblique saccades was made across the array to each of the 5 green circles that constituted the saccadic path. An oriented Gabor patch (2.2 cycles deg^-1) with superimposed noise field appeared briefly (90 ms) in a pre-cued circle at a random time. Noise was presented in all circles. Contrast was chosen to obtain ~75% - 85% correct reports of orientation in a 2AFC discrimination task. Pauses between saccades were 215 - 315 ms, about the same as observed when saccades were made without the concurrent perceptual test. Orientation discrimination for Gabors on the saccadic path (including previously visited locations) was 19% - 36% better than at off-path locations at equivalent eccentricities. Performance on the path varied, and was 5%-6% better at the target of the upcoming saccade than at the recently fixated location. These results show that attention during saccadic scanning serves multiple roles and can be allocated to more than just the immediate goal of the next saccade. Attention can also be used to enhance a set of task-relevant locations, while also guiding the saccade to the next target.

[Supported by NIH Grant EY015522.]

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