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Updated: May 13, 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
Postmicrosaccadic enhancement of slow eye movements
1Graduate School of Neural and Behavioural Sciences, International Max Planck Research School, Tuebingen, 72074 Germany.
Summary
Microsaccades, small rapid eye movements during fixation, cause increased retinal image slip and enhanced visual motion sensitivity immediately after the movement. This period impacts how the brain processes visual information during fixation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Vision Science
- Ocular Motor Control
Background:
- Active sensation requires sensory systems to adapt to altered input during sensor movement.
- Rapid eye movements, like microsaccades, compromise sensory input quality, necessitating a critical post-movement interval for reliable sensation recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the immediate post-microsaccade interval and its effects on retinal image slip and visual motion processing.
- To characterize ocular drifts and early visual motion processing following microsaccades in monkeys.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of postmicrosaccade ocular drifts in monkeys to quantify retinal-image slip.
- Real-time microsaccade detection to trigger full-field image motion and measure ocular following response as a proxy for motion processing.
Main Results:
- Observed enhanced ocular drifts up to ~28% above baseline for ~50 ms after microsaccades.
- Detected up to a ~73% increase in ocular following speed when motion stimuli were presented post-microsaccade, indicating enhanced motion sensitivity.
- Found suppression of ocular following when motion stimuli were presented during microsaccades.
Conclusions:
- The period immediately following microsaccades involves faster-than-usual image slip and heightened responsiveness to visual motion.
- These findings are crucial for interpreting neural and perceptual modulations observed around the time of microsaccades.
