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The effect of cognitive load on saccadic eye movements
E Stuyven1, K Van der Goten, A Vandierendonck
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Gent, Belgium. els.stuyven@rug.ac.be
Acta Psychologica
|April 19, 2000
Summary
Antisaccades, unlike prosaccades, require controlled processing due to inhibition needs. Both eye movement types are vulnerable to executive task interference, suggesting controlled processing underlies this susceptibility.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Saccades are rapid eye movements.
- Prosaccades are reflexive, while antisaccades require inhibiting a prepotent response.
- Antisaccades are hypothesized to involve greater controlled processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if antisaccades, unlike prosaccades, necessitate controlled processing.
- To investigate the impact of the Random time Interval Generation (RIG) task on saccade performance.
- To explore the role of executive functions in saccade control.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted.
- Experiment 1 compared prosaccade and antisaccade performance alone and with the RIG task and fixed tapping.
- Experiments 2 and 3 examined task characteristics and dual-task interference on saccades.
Main Results:
- Antisaccades showed greater susceptibility to executive interference from the RIG task.
- Prosaccades also exhibited interference, suggesting controlled processing is involved.
- Endogenously generated prosaccades were susceptible to dual-task interference.
Conclusions:
- Controlled processing is essential for antisaccades due to response inhibition.
- Controlled execution of prosaccades, even without inhibition, can lead to interference.
- Executive functions play a significant role in both prosaccade and antisaccade control.