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Are microsaccades responsible for the gap effect?

A Kingstone1, R Fendrich, C M Wessinger

  • 1University of Alberta, Department of Psychology, Edmonton, Canada.

Perception & Psychophysics
|August 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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The gap effect speeds up saccades, but this study found fixation point offsets do not influence microsaccades. Therefore, microsaccades are not responsible for the gap effect in visual attention.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Ophthalmology

Background:

  • The gap effect, where saccade latency decreases when a fixation point is removed before a peripheral target appears, is a well-documented phenomenon.
  • Previous hypotheses suggested that the gap effect might be linked to a reduction in corrective microsaccades and their associated refractory period.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of microsaccades in the production of the gap effect.
  • To determine if fixation point offsets influence microsaccade occurrence.
  • To assess the impact of microsaccades on the magnitude of the gap effect.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing a Purkinje image eye-tracker with high resolution (1 arcmin).
  • Measuring saccade latency and microsaccade occurrence during a gap paradigm.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzing the relationship between fixation point offset, microsaccades, and saccade latency.

    • Main Results:

    • A robust gap effect was confirmed in the study.
    • Fixation point offsets were found to have no significant effect on the occurrence of microsaccades.
    • The presence or absence of microsaccades did not influence the magnitude of the observed gap effect.

    Conclusions:

    • Microsaccades do not appear to play a role in the generation of the gap effect.
    • The underlying mechanism of the gap effect likely does not involve the modulation of microsaccades by fixation point offsets.