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Updated: Jul 22, 2026

A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking
Published on: July 9, 2016
Processing spatial information in the sensorimotor branch of the visual system
B Bridgeman1, A Gemmer, T Forsman
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA. bruceb@cats.ucsc.edu
Abstract:
We distinguish two representations of visual space: a cognitive representation drives perception, and a sensorimotor representation controls visually guided behavior. Spatial values in the two representations are separated with the Roelofs effect: a target within an off-center frame appears biased in a location opposite the direction of the frame. The effect appears for a verbal measure (cognitive) but not for a jab at the target (sensorimotor). A 2-s response delay induces a Roelofs effect in the motor measure, showing the limit of motor memory. Motor error is not correlated with reaction time. Subjects could strike one of two identical targets, a process involving choice, without intrusion of a Roelofs effect, showing that the sensorimotor system can use its own coordinates even when a cognitive choice initiates the motor processing.
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