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Updated: Aug 11, 2025
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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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Microsaccades are directed towards the midpoint between targets in a variably cued attention task
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 7, 2023
Summary
Microsaccade direction may not reliably indicate spatial attention, especially in unpredictable environments. Eye movements in monkeys were directed towards the midpoint of targets, not individual locations, challenging their use as a biomarker.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Microsaccades, small fixational eye movements, are proposed biomarkers for attention.
- Previous studies linked microsaccade direction to attention using unambiguous cues.
- Real-world environments often present ambiguous or unpredictable information.
Conclusions:
- Microsaccade direction may not be a reliable indicator of covert spatial attention in complex, naturalistic settings.
- The relationship between microsaccades and attention is more nuanced than previously assumed.
- Caution is advised when interpreting microsaccade direction as a biomarker for attention.
