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Task-dependent effects of social attention on saccadic reaction times

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Abstract

Previous research has shown that saccadic reaction times (SRTs) are shorter when a stimulus is flashed on the same side as the observed gaze direction of another individual. The gaze imitation hypothesis contends that observed gaze evokes the preparation of a saccade toward the same direction. Previous studies of this phenomenon have employed pro-saccade tasks in which the instructed saccade is directed toward the stimulus. In agreement with previous findings, we found that SRTs on pro-saccade trials were shorter when the stimulus appeared in the same direction as observed gaze. Here we also included anti-saccade trials in which subjects were required to look-away from a stimulus and toward its mirror position in the opposite visual field. The gaze imitation hypothesis predicts that subjects will have shorter SRTs on anti-saccade trials in which the stimulus appears opposite the observed gaze direction because they will have prepared already a saccade in that direction. However, contrary to the prediction of the gaze imitation hypothesis, we found that subjects had shorter SRTs on anti-saccade trials when the stimulus appeared in the same direction as observed gaze. Moreover, subjects also made more pro-saccade errors on anti-saccade trials in which the stimulus was presented opposite the observed gaze direction. The results of our study indicate that subjects prepared a saccade in the same direction as observed gaze on pro-saccade trials but opposite the observed gaze direction on anti-saccade trials. These findings suggest that the effect of social gaze cues on SRTs is task dependent.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Brian Corneil, Kevin Johnston, Matthew Brown, Courtney Field, Helen Levin, Sherry Ekstrom, and Kristen Ford for helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by grants from the Natural Science Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the EJLB foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada

    Michael J. Koval & Stefan Everling

  2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada

    Benson S. Thomas & Stefan Everling

  3. Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, N6A 5K8, Canada

    Stefan Everling

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada

    Stefan Everling

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  1. Michael J. Koval
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  2. Benson S. Thomas
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  3. Stefan Everling
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Correspondence to Stefan Everling.

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Koval, M.J., Thomas, B.S. & Everling, S. Task-dependent effects of social attention on saccadic reaction times. Exp Brain Res 167, 475–480 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0206-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0206-8

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