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Foveal stimulation and saccadic latencies

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Abstract

We investigated how a postsaccadic visual error affects the latency of the subsequent saccade. Observers made sequences of saccades directed to a single object or three separate objects, which could be displaced backward or onward during the primary saccade. The results showed an increase of second saccade latency after a backward displacement and a decrease of second saccade latency after an onward displacement. Moreover, second saccade latencies were particularly short after an onward displacement which resulted in a primary saccade landing position outside the boundary of the objects. We interpret the latency differences in terms of known effects within the saccadic system, specifically the sensitivity to the pattern of visual stimulation, particularly at and near the fovea, and the inverse correlation between secondary saccade amplitudes and secondary saccade latencies.

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Acknowledgements.

D. Vergilino-Perez was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fyssen Foundation. We thank Bob Metcalfe for his assistance in programming the experiment. Requests for reprints should be addressed to D. Vergilino-Perez, Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, UMR 8581 CNRS, Université René Descartes, 71 avenue Edouard Vaillant, 92774 Boulogne Billancourt Cedex, France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, UMR 8581 CNRS, Université René Descartes, 71 avenue Edouard Vaillant, 92774, Boulogne Billancourt Cedex, France

    Dorine Vergilino-Perez

  2. Centre for Vision and Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Dorine Vergilino-Perez & John M. Findlay

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  1. Dorine Vergilino-Perez
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  2. John M. Findlay
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Correspondence to Dorine Vergilino-Perez.

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Vergilino-Perez, D., Findlay, J.M. Foveal stimulation and saccadic latencies. Exp Brain Res 150, 255–258 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1418-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1418-4

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