Volume 8, Number 16, Article 15, Pages 1-18 doi:10.1167/8.16.15 http://journalofvision.org/8/16/15/ ISSN 1534-7362
Visual memory during pauses between successive saccades
Timothy M. Gersch
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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Eileen Kowler
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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Brian S. Schnitzer
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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Barbara A. Dosher
Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, A, USA
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Abstract

Selective attention is closely linked to eye movements. Prior to a saccade, attention shifts to the saccadic goal at the expense of surrounding locations. Such a constricted attentional field, while useful to ensure accurate saccades, constrains the spatial range of high-quality perceptual analysis. The present study showed that attention could be allocated to locations other than the saccadic goal without disrupting the ongoing pattern of saccades. Saccades were made sequentially along a color-cued path. Attention was assessed by a visual memory task presented during a random pause between successive saccades. Saccadic planning had several effects on memory: (1) fewer letters were remembered during intersaccadic pauses than during maintained fixation; (2) letters appearing on the saccadic path, including locations previously examined, could be remembered; off-path performance was near chance; (3) memory was better at the saccadic target than at all other locations, including the currently fixated location. These results show that the distribution of attention during intersaccadic pauses results from a combination of top–down enhancement at the saccadic target coupled with a more automatic allocation of attention to selected display locations. This suggests that the visual system has mechanisms to control the distribution of attention without interfering with ongoing saccadic programming.

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History
Received June 4, 2008; published December 22, 2008
Citation
Gersch, T. M., Kowler, E., Schnitzer, B. S., & Dosher, B. A. (2008). Visual memory during pauses between successive saccades. Journal of Vision, 8(16):15, 1-18, http://journalofvision.org/8/16/15/, doi:10.1167/8.16.15.
Keywords
saccades, attention, eye movements, sequences, motor control, visual memory
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