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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
Microsaccade rate varies with subjective visibility during motion-induced blindness
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Moore Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America. pjh@mit.edu
Plos One
|April 10, 2009
Summary
Microsaccade and eyeblink rates influence motion-induced blindness (MIB) perception. Eye movement changes precede visual disappearance and reappearance during MIB, impacting brain activity in visual processing areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Psychophysics
Background:
- Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is a visual phenomenon where a stationary target disappears when surrounded by moving elements.
- The neural and behavioral correlates of perceptual transitions in MIB are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between microsaccade/eyeblink rate and perceptual switches in MIB.
- To examine brain activity changes associated with perceptual transitions during MIB using fMRI.
Main Methods:
- Psychophysical experiments measuring perceptual switches during MIB.
- Recording of microsaccade and eyeblink rates.
- Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signals.
Main Results:
- Microsaccade/eyeblink rates increased before and after the dot reappeared (transition from not seeing to seeing).
- Rates decreased before the dot disappeared (transition from seeing to not seeing).
- fMRI revealed increased BOLD signal in V1v/V2v and decreased signal in contralateral hMT+ upon dot reappearance.
Conclusions:
- Microsaccade and eyeblink activity are linked to perceptual state changes in MIB.
- Observed BOLD signal changes may reflect perceptual state shifts or be confounded by eye movement rates.
