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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

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Published on: March 18, 2019

Microsaccades: small steps on a long way.

¹Université Paris Descartes, Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, 75006 Paris, France. martin.rolfs@parisdescartes.fr

Vision Research

|August 18, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Microsaccades, tiny eye movements during fixation, are crucial for vision. This review highlights their 60-year contribution to visual perception and eye movement control.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Visual Perception

Background:

Fixations involve dynamic, miniature eye movements, primarily microsaccades.
Recent years show increased interest in microsaccades due to neurophysiological and psychophysical findings.
Earlier research on microsaccades is underrepresented in current literature.

Purpose of the Study:

To review 60 years of research on microsaccades.
To demonstrate the unique contributions of microsaccades to visual and oculomotor functions.
To consolidate understanding of microsaccades' role in perception and eye movement.

Main Methods:

Literature review of studies spanning 60 years.
Compilation of evidence from neurophysiological and psychophysical research.
Analysis of techniques, experimental results, and theoretical models related to eye movements.

Main Results:

Microsaccades contribute to fixation stability and prevent perceptual fading.
They are involved in generating visual transients and enhancing visual acuity.
Microsaccades play a role in spatial attention shifts and resolving perceptual ambiguities.

Conclusions:

Microsaccades serve both perceptual and oculomotor functions.
They are a flexible tool utilized by the visual system.
While not always essential, microsaccades significantly aid visual processing.