LATER predicts saccade latency distributions in reading.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Saccade reaction times, when evoked by stimuli, often follow a recinormal distribution consistent with the Leaky Competing Accumulator (LATER) model.
• Spontaneous saccades, common during activities like reading, also exhibit reaction time distributions, though typically with longer medians and more early responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the statistical distributions of fixation times during spontaneous saccades in reading.
• To investigate how factors like word familiarity and fixation proximity alter these distributions.
• To determine if the LATER model can describe spontaneous saccades in reading.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a large database of spontaneous saccades recorded during reading.
• Statistical examination of fixation time distributions.
• Comparison of observed distributions with predictions from the LATER model.

Main Results:

• Fixation time distributions during reading are significantly altered by word familiarity and proximity to the previous fixation.
• Word familiarity appears to modulate the rate of decision signal accumulation in the LATER model.
• Fixation proximity seems to influence the prior probability within the LATER model.

Conclusions:

• Spontaneous saccades during reading can be effectively modeled using the same decision-making framework (LATER) as evoked saccades.
• Reading behavior incorporates decision-making processes influenced by visual context and prior experience.