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Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
Published on: March 18, 2019
Segregation of visual selection and saccades in human frontal eye fields
C-H Juan1, N G Muggleton, O J L Tzeng
1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Jhongli 320, Taiwan. chijuan@cc.ncu.edu.tw
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|March 11, 2008
Summary
The premotor theory of attention links target processing and saccade generation. Our study using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the frontal eye fields shows these processes are distinct, not interdependent.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Oculomotor Research
- Human Brain Activity
Background:
- The premotor theory of attention posits interdependence between target processing and saccade generation.
- The human frontal eye fields are critical for eye movements and implicated in this theory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal relationship between visual analysis and saccade preparation.
- To test the interdependence suggested by the premotor theory of attention.
Main Methods:
- Utilized temporally precise transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the frontal eye fields.
- Subjects performed a visually instructed pro-/antisaccade task.
- Analyzed TMS delivery at distinct time points to assess impact on saccade latencies.
Main Results:
- Two distinct time points for TMS delivery resulted in elevated saccade latencies.
- This indicates a temporal separation between visual analysis and saccade preparation.
- Findings challenge the strict interdependence proposed by the premotor theory.
Conclusions:
- Visual analysis and saccade preparation are dissociable processes.
- These processes, while often co-occurring, can be separated in time.
- The findings provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of attention and eye movements.
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