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Updated: Feb 15, 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
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The effect of offset cues on saccade programming and covert attention
Daniel T Smith1, Soazig Casteau1
1Department of Psychology, Durham University, Stockton-on-Tees, UK.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|January 27, 2018
Summary
Peripheral event offsets capture attention and prepare eye movements, challenging previous theories. This study links covert attention to oculomotor activation, especially when no-go trials are removed.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Attention
- Oculomotor Control
Background:
- The premotor theory of attention posits that attention shifts depend on planned eye movements.
- Previous research showed a discrepancy: peripheral offsets attract attention but don't always prepare eye movements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of peripheral offsets on both covert attention and saccade preparation.
- To reconcile conflicting findings regarding attention and oculomotor control.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using manual detection and saccadic localization tasks.
- Peripheral offsets were used as cues, with variations in trial types (including removal of 'no-target' trials).
Main Results:
- Transient offsets facilitated attention and sped up saccadic responses in valid cue trials when 'no-target' trials were absent.
- The permanent disappearance of an object also enhanced attention and reaction times.
- Saccadic capture errors were high on 'no-target' trials, but this effect was attenuated when these trials were removed.
Conclusions:
- Peripheral offsets trigger both saccade programming and covert attentional orienting.
- Exogenous, covert orienting is closely linked to oculomotor activation.
- Removing 'no-go' trials helps reconcile attention-oculomotor coupling findings with prior research.
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