Journal article

Publication year: 2008

Pages: 124-128

Journal: Current Biology

Volume number: 18

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0960-9822

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.12.027

Publisher: Cell Press

Abstract: 
In visual systems with a fovea, only a small portion of the visual field can be analyzed with high accuracy. Saccadic eye movements shift that center of gaze around several times a second. Saccades have been characterized in great detail and depend critically on a number of visual properties of the stimuli. However, typical experiments have used bright spots on dark backgrounds, while our natural environment has a highly characteristic rich spatial structure. Here we show that the saccadic system, unlike the perceptual system, is able to compensate for the masking caused by structured backgrounds. Consequently, saccadic latencies in the context of natural backgrounds are much faster than unstructured backgrounds at equal levels of visibility. The results suggest that whenever a structured background acts to mask the visibility of the saccade target, it simultaneously preactivates saccadic circuitry and thus ensures a fast reaction to potentially critical stimuli that are difficult to detect in our environment.

Harvard Citation style: White, B., Stritzke, M. and Gegenfurtner, K. (2008) Saccadic facilitation in natural backgrounds, Current Biology, 18(2), pp. 124-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.12.027

APA Citation style: White, B., Stritzke, M., & Gegenfurtner, K. (2008). Saccadic facilitation in natural backgrounds. Current Biology. 18(2), 124-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.12.027