Express attentional shifts

doi:10.1016/0042-6989(93)90061-Z

Vision Research

Volume 33, Issue 1, January 1993, Pages 85-90

https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(93)90061-Z Get rights and content

Abstract

“Express” saccades, named for their extremely short latencies, occur more frequently in a paradigm with a “gap” in time between the disappearance of the fixation mark and the appearance of the target to be fixated. To explain this result, it has been hypothesized that movements of the eyes are preceded by movements of attention [Posner (1980)Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3–25], and that removing the fixation mark allows attention to disengage from the fovea and to be deployed more rapidly to the peripheral target, thus diminishing saccadic latency [Fischer (1987)Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, 105, 1–35]. We measured attention using extra-foveal vernier acuity performance. Our results provide direct evidence supporting the above hypothesis. First, we found that the rise of performance for increasing cue lead times was much faster in the “gap” paradigm. Second, the time function relating gap duration to discrimination performance was remarkably similar to the one relating gap duration and rate of express saccades reported by Mayfrank, Mobashery, Kimmig & Fischer [(1987)European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Science, 235, 269–275]. Third, control experiments showed that it was the disappearance of the fixation mark rather than a non-specific warning that led to more rapid shifts of attention and, thus, to better performance. We therefore conclude that the short latencies of “express” saccades may be based on a mechanism involving unusually rapid shifts of attention.

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Cited by (125)

Vertical saccades in dyslexic children
2014, Research in Developmental Disabilities
Citation Excerpt :
Also, the frequent occurrence of anticipatory and express saccades in dyslexics observed in this study for vertical saccades is in line with previous findings reported for horizontal saccade direction. Taken together, all these data suggested the presence of some difficulties in the attentional control in dyslexic; indeed Mackeben and Nakayama (1993) reported an abnormal rapid shifting of attention involved in express latencies. On the other hand, longer saccade latencies could be in relation with the hypothesis of an underdevelopment of frontal–parietal myelination process (Sharpe & Zackon, 1987), areas which are responsible of the saccade triggering.
Vertical saccades have never been studied in dyslexic children. We examined vertical visually guided saccades in fifty-six dyslexic children (mean age: 10.5 ± 2.56 years old) and fifty-six age matched non dyslexic children (mean age: 10.3 ± 1.74 years old). Binocular eye movements were recorded using an infrared video-oculography system (mobileEBT®, e(ye)BRAIN). Dyslexic children showed significantly longer latency than the non dyslexic group, also the occurrence of anticipatory and express saccades was more important in dyslexic than in non dyslexic children. The gain and the mean velocity values were significantly smaller in dyslexic than in non dyslexic children. Finally, the up–down asymmetry reported in normal population for the gain and the velocity of vertical saccades was observed in dyslexic children and interestingly, dyslexic children also reported an up–down asymmetry for the mean latency. Taken together all these findings suggested impairment in cortical areas responsible of vertical saccades performance and also at peripheral level of the extra-ocular oblique muscles; moreover, a visuo-attentionnal bias could explain the up–down asymmetry reported for the vertical saccade triggering.
Early perceptual interactions shape the time course of cueing
2013, Acta Psychologica
Citation Excerpt :
This pattern conforms to the results of Wilschut et al. (2011), who found a rapidly rising performance function for the first 100 to 150 ms, after which accuracy slowly reached asymptote. Note that since we did not sample the SOAs between 83 and 233 ms, the cueing effect might have reached its maximum earlier than at 233 ms. It also corresponds to a number of earlier spatial cueing studies, and is suggestive of a gradual attentional enhancement of the target up to about 150–200 ms (Chastain & Cheal, 1998; Cheal & Lyon, 1991; Kristjánsson, Mackeben, & Nakayama, 2001; Mackeben & Nakayama, 1993; Müller & Findlay, 1988; Nakayama & Mackeben, 1989). In contrast to the monotonic performance function in the vernier task, the U-shaped accuracy pattern for the letter task resembles that of Experiment 3 of Nieuwenstein, Van der Burg et al. (2009), with performance being quite good at the earliest SOA of only 33 ms, followed by a dip and then a recovery towards the later SOAs.
Performance in spatial cueing tasks is characterized by a rapid attentional enhancement with increasing cue–target SOA. We recently found that this enhancement function also applies when the cue and the target are presented invariably at a single central location, suggesting a universal cueing time course [Wilschut et al., 2011, PLoS ONE, 6, e27661]. However, using a very similar cueing task, Nieuwenstein et al. [2009, JoV, 9, 1–14] have found a rather different pattern, namely a U-shaped deficit in performance after a cue-like stimulus. The present study varied the properties of the cue and the target in order to investigate the mechanisms underlying the different time functions. In four experiments, cueing was found to either improve or decrease performance with increasing SOA, depending on the type of target that was used. In addition, the level of performance at the shortest cue–target intervals (33–83 ms) was dependent on the relative strength of the cue and the target, akin to what has been found in visual masking studies. The results suggest that cueing shapes performance via two mechanisms, one sensory-related and one attention-related, the combination of which results in either U-shaped or monotonic patterns.
Contributions of retinal input and phenomenal representation of a fixation object to the saccadic gap effect
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This hypothesis was based on Posner’s theory of attention, which states that attention has to be disengaged from one location before shifting to another (Posner, 1980). Thus, the removal of a fixation stimulus triggers this disengagement process, which in turn facilitates an immediate saccadic response following target onset (Fischer & Breitmeyer, 1987; Fischer & Weber, 1993; Mackeben & Nakayama, 1993; Pratt, Bekkering, & Leung, 2000; Pratt, Lajonchere, & Abrams, 2006). Although the neural mechanisms underlying the fixation offset effect and attentional disengagement may be different, both explanations assume that facilitation of the saccadic response is attributed to the removal of the fixated/attended prior to target presentation.
The saccadic “gap effect” refers to a phenomenon whereby saccadic reaction times (SRTs) are shortened by the removal of a visual fixation stimulus prior to target presentation. In the current study, we investigated whether the gap effect was influenced by retinal input of a fixation stimulus, as well as phenomenal permanence and/or expectation of the re-emergence of a fixation stimulus. In Experiment 1, we used an occluded fixation stimulus that was gradually hidden by a moving plate prior to the target presentation, which produced the impression that the fixation stimulus still remained and would reappear from behind the plate. We found that the gap effect was significantly weakened with the occluded fixation stimulus. However, the SRT with the occluded fixation stimulus was still shorter in comparison to when the fixation stimulus physically remained on the screen. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether this effect was due to phenomenal maintenance or expectation of the reappearance of the fixation stimulus; this was achieved by using occluding plates that were an identical color to the background screen, giving the impression of reappearance of the fixation stimulus but not of its maintenance. The result showed that the gap effect was still weakened by the same degree even without phenomenal maintenance of the fixation stimulus. These results suggest that the saccadic gap effect is modulated by both retinal input and subjective expectation of re-emergence of the fixation stimulus. In addition to oculomotor mechanisms, other components, such as attentional mechanisms, likely contribute to facilitation of the subsequent action.
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^†: Present address: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.

View full text

Express attentional shifts

Abstract

Brain Research

Neuropsychologia

Vision Research

Relationship between directed visual attention and saccadic reaction times

Experimental Brain Research

Some characteristics of selective attention in visual perception determined by vocal reaction time

Perception and Psychophysics

Fast saccades to chromatic and achromatic targets

Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.)

Movements of the eyes

The preparation of visually guided saccades

Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology

Human express saccades: Extremely short reaction times of goal directed eye movement

Experimental Brain Research