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Trial history biases the spatial programming of antisaccades
Tara Rastgardani1, Victor Lau, Jason J S Barton
1Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Experimental Brain Research
|September 6, 2012
Summary
Recent eye movement history influences antisaccade endpoints, with bias extending to the penultimate trial. This historical effect impacts rapid eye movements and is corrected by subsequent saccades.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Oculomotor Research
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Saccade characteristics like latency and error rates are known to be influenced by historical context.
- Less is understood about how context affects the spatial parameters of saccades.
- A novel 'alternate-goal bias' in antisaccades was previously linked to expectancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of trial history in spatial antisaccade responses.
- To determine if recent past antisaccade locations influence current response endpoints.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed antisaccade tasks with stimuli presented at three equally probable locations.
- Stimulus locations included horizontal meridian, 40° downward, and 40° upward angles.
- Analysis focused on antisaccade endpoint deviations and their relationship to preceding trial history.
Main Results:
- Antisaccade endpoints showed significant displacement towards goal locations of the preceding (n-1) and penultimate (n-2) trials.
- This historical bias was most pronounced in short-latency antisaccades (<250 ms).
- Rapidly generated biases were effectively corrected by secondary saccades.
Conclusions:
- Recent antisaccade history biases the spatial programming of subsequent antisaccades.
- This historical influence persists for several seconds and primarily affects rapid eye movements.
- The bias likely originates in response vector generation, not perceptual estimation, as corrective saccades normalize endpoints.
