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

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Shift of visual fixation dependent on background illumination

S Barash¹, A Melikyan, A Sivakov

¹Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.

Journal of Neurophysiology

|May 20, 1998

Summary

Visual fixation in monkeys shifts upward on dark backgrounds, moving the target away from the fovea. This background luminance-dependent eye movement improves vision in dim light.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Behavior Regulation Abilities in Children With Prader-Willi Syndrome and Their Impact on Daily Life: At the Crossroads of Cognitive and Emotional Development.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders·2026

Same author

Safety and Outcomes of Direct Challenge in Adults With a History of Childhood Penicillin Allergy: A Multicenter Study.

Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology·2026

Same author

Dupilumab step-down strategy to maintain remission in adult and adolescent patients with atopic dermatitis: study protocol for a non-inferiority randomized trial (MADULO).

Trials·2025

Same author

Allergological work-up of severe cutaneous adverse reactions with suspicion of anxiolytics or sleeping pills. A multicenter retrospective study of 20 cases.

Annales de dermatologie et de venereologie·2025

Same author

French national protocol for diagnosis and management of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) in adults and children.

Annales de dermatologie et de venereologie·2025

Same author

Allergic Signature in Delayed Cross-Hypersensitivity to all Iodinated Contrast Media.

Allergy·2025

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Primate Vision

Background:

Visual fixation is crucial for high-level vision but poorly understood.
The visual input attributes controlling fixation remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how background luminance influences visual fixation in primates.
To characterize the properties and underlying mechanisms of luminance-dependent fixation shifts.

Main Methods:

Experiments conducted on four Macaca fascicularis monkeys.
Systematic manipulation of background luminance during visual fixation tasks.
Controlled testing of fixation positions under varying light conditions and head orientations.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

Dark backgrounds induce an upward shift in eye fixation position, exceeding the foveal radius.
The magnitude of the upward shift correlates with decreasing background luminosity.
The shift is an attribute of the fixation control system, influenced by perifoveal retinal input.

Conclusions:

Background luminance, not contrast, is the primary driver of the observed fixation upshift.
This phenomenon may enhance visual acuity in scotopic conditions by optimizing retinal input.
The cerebellum and superior colliculus are potential brain structures involved in generating this fixation behavior.