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Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Maintaining eye fixation relieves pressure of cognitive action control
Anika Krause1,2,3, Christian H Poth2,3
1Biopsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
Abstract:
Cognitive control enables humans to behave guided by their current goals and intentions. Cognitive control in one task generally suffers when humans try to engage in another task on top. However, we discovered an additional task that supports conflict resolution. In two experiments, participants performed a spatial cognitive control task. For different blocks of trials, they either received no instruction regarding eye movements or were asked to maintain the eyes fixated on a stimulus. The additional eye fixation task did not reduce task performance, but selectively ameliorated the adverse effects of cognitive conflicts on reaction times (Experiment 1). Likewise, in urgent situations, the additional task reduced performance impairments due to stimulus-driven processing overpowering cognitive control (Experiment 2). These findings suggest that maintaining eye fixation locks attentional resources that would otherwise induce spatial cognitive conflicts. This reveals an attentional disinhibition that boosts goal-directed action by relieving pressure from cognitive control.
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