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LATEST: A model of saccadic decisions in space and time
Benjamin W Tatler1, James R Brockmole2, R H S Carpenter3
1School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen.
Psychological Review
|March 31, 2017
Summary
Understanding gaze control, this study introduces a unified model for deciding when and where to look. It reveals that eye movements are triggered when the benefits of a new visual location outweigh staying put.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Computational Vision
- Oculomotor Research
Background:
- Directing gaze is crucial for visually guided actions, requiring decisions on timing and location.
- Current models often separate spatial and temporal mechanisms for gaze control.
- Understanding gaze strategies informs us about the brain's information sampling priorities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a unified computational model for predicting both the timing and target of human gaze shifts.
- To challenge the assumption that spatial and temporal gaze control mechanisms are distinct.
Main Methods:
- Developed a novel model based on the principle of comparing expected benefits of moving versus staying.
- Evaluated the model's ability to predict fixation selection and saccade timing.
Main Results:
- The model successfully accounts for both when eye movements occur and where they are directed.
- Saccade timing analysis alone predicts fixation points in scene viewing.
- The model performs comparably to or better than existing models of fixation selection.
Conclusions:
- A single decision mechanism can explain both the timing and spatial selection of saccades.
- Gaze control decisions are based on a cost-benefit analysis of shifting fixation.
- This unified approach offers a more parsimonious explanation for oculomotor behavior.