Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Enhanced memory colour in peripheral vision: A possible compensation for chromatic loss.

Vision research·2026

Same author

Explicit and implicit spatial mapping of face age.

Psychological research·2026

Same author

Culture shapes the SNARC-like effect for visual speed.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026

Same author

Ethnicity does not matter: Comparable reversed congruency effects for gaze stimuli from same- and other-ethnicity faces.

Psychological research·2025

Same author

Attentional tracking reduces cortical alpha oscillations.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Face perception: a window into the social mind.

Scientific reports·2025

Same journal

How Do We Remember the Future? A Systematic Review of ERP Components in Focal and Nonfocal Prospective Memory Tasks.

Biological psychology·2026

Same journal

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity is associated with greater situational attributions and longer blame explanations in natural language.

Biological psychology·2026

Same journal

Factors influencing proprioceptive accuracy: An analysis of the joint position reproduction test.

Biological psychology·2026

Same journal

On choosing heart-rate-variability (HRV) metrics to reflect vagus-nerve functioning: The construct counts, not the algorithm.

Biological psychology·2026

Same journal

Social network composition and inflammation at midlife: A socioemotional selectivity theory perspective.

Biological psychology·2026

Same journal

Neurophysiological mechanisms of fluid intelligence: Insights from ERP and aperiodic activity in adolescents.

Biological psychology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 11, 2025

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

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

Published on: March 18, 2019

Is mind wandering reflected in microsaccade dynamics?

Matteo Valsecchi¹, Mario Dalmaso², Luigi Castelli²

¹Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy.

Biological Psychology

|August 15, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Mind wandering, or task-unrelated thoughts, is linked to fewer microsaccades. This suggests the brain is actively engaged during mind wandering, not idle.

Keywords:

Fixational eye movements Microsaccades Mind wandering Sustained attention to response task

More Related Videos

Using Saccadometry with Deep Brain Stimulation to Study Normal and Pathological Brain Function

Using Saccadometry with Deep Brain Stimulation to Study Normal and Pathological Brain Function

Published on: July 14, 2016

Eye Tracking During A Complex Aviation Task For Insights Into Information Processing

Eye Tracking During A Complex Aviation Task For Insights Into Information Processing

Published on: April 4, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 11, 2025

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

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

Published on: March 18, 2019

Using Saccadometry with Deep Brain Stimulation to Study Normal and Pathological Brain Function

Using Saccadometry with Deep Brain Stimulation to Study Normal and Pathological Brain Function

Published on: July 14, 2016

Eye Tracking During A Complex Aviation Task For Insights Into Information Processing

Eye Tracking During A Complex Aviation Task For Insights Into Information Processing

Published on: April 4, 2025

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology

Background:

Mind wandering involves task-unrelated thoughts, contributing to attentional lapses.
Previous research indicates a link between mind wandering and eye movement patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if microsaccade rate is affected by mind wandering.
To explore the relationship between spontaneous eye movements and attentional states.

Main Methods:

Participants completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART).
Microsaccade rates were analyzed before commission errors (indicating mind wandering) and correct responses.

Main Results:

Microsaccade rate was significantly lower preceding commission errors compared to correct responses.
Cluster-based analyses confirmed the robustness of this reduced microsaccade rate pattern.

Conclusions:

Reduced microsaccade rate may serve as a neural marker for mind wandering.
Findings suggest mind wandering is an active, effortful cognitive state, contrary to being idle.