Eye cannot see it: the interference of subliminal distractors on saccade metrics.
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.
Van der Stigchel
Stefan
S
Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. S.VanderStigchel@uu.nl
Mulckhuyse
Manon
M
Theeuwes
Jan
J
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