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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

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Published on: March 18, 2019

Microsaccades are sensitive to word structure: A novel approach to study language processing.

Maya Yablonski¹, Uri Polat², Yoram S Bonneh²

¹The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. mayayab@gmail.com.

Scientific Reports

|June 23, 2017

Summary

Microsaccades, tiny involuntary eye movements, show sensitivity to linguistic structure. This finding suggests microsaccades can serve as a novel physiological measure for studying language processing.

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Published on: November 30, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Ophthalmology

Background:

Microsaccades are involuntary miniature eye movements during visual fixation.
Microsaccade inhibition is influenced by visual stimuli but its sensitivity to linguistic properties is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether microsaccades are sensitive to abstract linguistic properties.
To explore the potential of microsaccades as a physiological measure for language processing.

Main Methods:

Measured microsaccade timing in response to written Hebrew words and pseudowords.
Manipulated pseudowords to contain real or invented roots, equating orthographic similarity.
Analyzed microsaccade onset and eye blink timing post-stimulus.

Main Results:

Microsaccade onset was significantly delayed for real-root pseudowords compared to invented-root pseudowords.
Eye blink timing also showed similar delays.
Microsaccade delay positively correlated with real-word similarity measures.

Conclusions:

Microsaccades demonstrate sensitivity to the linguistic structure of written stimuli.
This study provides initial evidence for using microsaccades as a novel physiological tool to study language processing in various populations.