Our eyes deviate away from a location where a distractor is expected to appear

S. van der Stigchel, J. Theeuwes

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Abstract

Previous research has shown that in order to make an accurate saccade to a target object, nearby distractor objects need to be inhibited. The extent to which saccade trajectories deviate away from a distractor is often considered to be an index of the strength of inhibition. The present study shows that the mere expectation that a distractor will appear at a specific location is enough to generate saccade deviations away from this location. This suggests that higher-order cognitive processes such as top-down expectancy interact with low-level structures involved in eye movement control. The results will be discussed in the light of current theories of target selection and possible neurophysiological correlates. © Springer-Verlag 2005.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)338-349
Number of pages12
JournalExperimental Brain Research
Volume169
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006

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