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Updated: May 25, 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
Saccadic interception of a moving visual target after a spatiotemporal perturbation
Jérome Fleuriet1, Laurent Goffart
1Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, UMR 6193, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, 13331 Marseille Cedex 03, France.
Summary
The brain accurately estimates moving object locations for interceptive saccades, even with added eye movement delays. Deep superior colliculus stimulation reveals how the brain compensates for perturbations during visually guided eye movements.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Animals use saccadic eye movements to intercept moving objects.
- Accurate interception requires the brain to estimate target spatiotemporal coordinates despite sensorimotor delays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the robustness of the brain's spatial estimate during interceptive saccades.
- To investigate the effects of experimentally induced eye position changes and delays on saccade accuracy.
- To examine the role of the deep superior colliculus (dSC) in processing target motion for interception.
Main Methods:
- Monkeys performed interceptive saccades towards a moving target.
- Microstimulation of the deep superior colliculus (dSC) was used to induce perturbations (eye position changes and delays) before saccade onset.
- Saccade accuracy and endpoint were analyzed under different stimulation conditions.
Main Results:
- When dSC stimulation opposed target motion, monkeys accurately corrected saccades.
- When dSC stimulation matched target motion, saccade accuracy varied, with errors increasing with caudal stimulation sites.
- Compensation was observed in numerous cases, indicating a robust spatial estimate of the target.
Conclusions:
- The brain maintains a robust and accurate estimate of a moving target's location during interceptive saccades.
- dSC microstimulation can disrupt signals encoding target motion, leading to saccade inaccuracies.
- Results support the dual-drive and remapping hypotheses regarding sensorimotor control and spatial updating.
