title: Eye cannot see it: the interference of subliminal distractors on saccade metrics.
abstract: The present study investigated whether subliminal (unconsciously perceived) visual information influences eye movement metrics, like saccade trajectories and endpoints. Participants made eye movements upwards and downwards while a subliminal distractor was presented in the periphery. Results showed that the subliminal distractor interfered with the execution of an eye movement, although the effects were smaller compared to a control experiment in which the distractor was presented supraliminal. Because saccade metrics are mediated by low level brain areas, this indicates that subliminal visual information evokes competition at a very low level in the oculomotor system.
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. S.VanderStigchel@uu.nl
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van der Stigchel
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulckhuyse
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Theeuwes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention; D003463:Cues; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D014794:Visual Fields; D055815:Young Adult