The hand's automatic pilot can update visual information while the eye is in motion
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Eye Tracking During A Complex Aviation Task For Insights Into Information Processing
Published on: April 4, 2025
Brendan D Cameron1, James T Enns, Ian M Franks
1School of Human Kinetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Abstract:
When participants reach for a target, their hand can adjust to a change in target position that occurs while their eyes are in motion (the hand's automatic pilot) even though they are not aware of the target's displacement (saccadic suppression of perceptual experience). However, previous studies of this effect have displayed the target without interruption, such that the new target position remains visible during the fixation that follows the saccade. Here we test whether a change in target position that begins and ends during the saccade can be used to update aiming movements. We also ask whether such information can be acquired from two targets at a time. The results showed that participants responded to single and double target jumps even when these targets were extinguished prior to saccade termination. The results imply that the hand's automatic pilot is updated with new visual information even when the eye is in motion.
Related Concept Videos
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Vision
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Parallel Processing
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Muscles of the Eye
Extraocular Muscles
The six extraocular muscles surround the eyeball and control its movements. They are responsible for a wide range of eye motions, including looking up, down, left, right, and rotating...

