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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
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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
The effect of cognitive distraction on saccadic latency
Jane Halliday1, Roger H S Carpenter
1Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. jane.halliday@cantab.net
Perception
|March 23, 2010
Summary
Fronto-executive load impairs decision-making by weakening cortical control over the superior colliculus. This leads to more errors and an increase in short-latency saccades during no-go tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Saccadic eye movements are studied as a model for neural decision-making.
- Higher cortical functions control visual decision-making, while the superior colliculus handles reflexive optomotor responses.
- Increased errors in no-go saccadic tasks under cognitive load suggest weakened cortical control over the superior colliculus.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between fronto-executive load, error rates, and saccade latency in a no-go saccadic task.
- To test the theory that weakened cortical control of the superior colliculus contributes to errors under cognitive load.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a saccadic go/no-go task with varying levels of fronto-executive load (audio-verbal interference).
- Measured saccade latency, focusing on incorrect saccades and error rates.
- Analyzed the proportion of short-latency saccades in relation to overall error rate.
Main Results:
- Increased audio-verbal interference led to a higher error rate in the no-go saccadic task.
- The proportion of short-latency saccades significantly increased with higher cognitive load.
- These findings correlate increased errors with a greater number of short-latency, reflexive saccades.
Conclusions:
- Cortical function is crucial for inhibiting reflexive saccadic responses.
- Fronto-executive loading weakens this cortical control, impairing the ability to suppress unwanted, short-latency saccades.
- The superior colliculus's role in reflexive saccades is more evident when higher cortical inhibitory control is diminished.
