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Fixation disengagement enhances peripheral perceptual processing: evidence for a perceptual gap effect

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Abstract

Temporal gaps between the offset of a central fixation stimulus and the onset of an eccentric target typically reduce saccade latencies (saccadic gap effect). Here, we test whether temporal gaps also affect perceptual performance in peripheral vision. In Experiment 1, subjects executed saccades to briefly presented peripheral target letters and reported letter identity afterwards. A central fixation stimulus either remained visible throughout the trial (overlap) or disappeared 200 ms before letter onset (gap). Experiment 2 tested perceptual performance without saccade execution, whereas Experiment 3 tested saccade execution without perceptual demands. Peripheral letter perception performance was enhanced in gap as compared to overlap conditions (perceptual gap effect) irrespective of concurrent oculomotor demands. Furthermore, the saccadic gap effect was modulated by concurrent perceptual demands. Experiment 4 ruled out a general warning explanation of the perceptual gap effect. These findings extend recent theories assuming a strong coupling between the preparation of goal-directed saccades and shifts of visual attention from the spatial to the temporal domain.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Elena Zettelmeyer for data collection, Ralph Radach for his involvement in developing the paradigm, three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript and those who kindly volunteered to participate in the study.

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  1. Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstrasse 17-19, 52066, Aachen, Germany

    Lynn Huestegge & Iring Koch

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  1. Lynn Huestegge
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  2. Iring Koch
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Correspondence to Lynn Huestegge.

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Huestegge, L., Koch, I. Fixation disengagement enhances peripheral perceptual processing: evidence for a perceptual gap effect. Exp Brain Res 201, 631–640 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-2080-2

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