title: Saccadic inhibition underlies the remote distractor effect.
abstract: The remote distractor effect is a robust finding whereby a saccade to a lateralised visual target is delayed by the simultaneous, or near simultaneous, onset of a distractor in the opposite hemifield. Saccadic inhibition is a more recently discovered phenomenon whereby a transient change to the scene during a visual task induces a depression in saccadic frequency beginning within 70 ms, and maximal around 90-100 ms. We assessed whether saccadic inhibition is responsible for the increase in saccadic latency induced by remote distractors. Participants performed a simple saccadic task in which the delay between target and distractor was varied between 0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 ms. Examination of the distributions of saccadic latencies showed that each distractor produced a discrete dip in saccadic frequency, time-locked to distractor onset, conforming closely to the character of saccadic inhibition. We conclude that saccadic inhibition underlies the remote distractor effect.
authors.affiliation: Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
authors.forename: Antimo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buonocore
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: McIntosh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: Vision Res. 1994 Jul;34(14):1883-91
references.pmid: 7941390
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 1999 Aug;22(4):661-74; discussion 674-721
references.pmid: 11301526
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1990;81(2):318-24
references.pmid: 2397759
references.citation: Percept Psychophys. 1981 May;29(5):429-37
references.pmid: 7279569
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2004 Feb;30(1):194-211
references.pmid: 14769077
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1995;103(2):294-310
references.pmid: 7789437
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Apr 1;14(3):371-88
references.pmid: 11970798
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1997 Aug;78(2):1108-19
references.pmid: 9307138
references.citation: Percept Psychophys. 1980 Mar;27(3):251-7
references.pmid: 7383806