Motor signals in visual localization.
We demonstrate a strong sensory-motor coupling in visual localization in which experimental modification of the control of saccadic eye movements leads to an associated change in the perceived location of objects. Amplitudes of saccades to peripheral targets were altered by saccadic adaptation, induced by an artificial step of the saccade target during the eye movement, which leads the oculomotor system to recalibrate saccade parameters. Increasing saccade amplitudes induced concurrent shifts in perceived location of visual objects. The magnitude of perceptual shift depended on the size and persistence of errors between intended and actual saccade amplitudes. This tight agreement between the change of eye movement control and the change of localization shows that perceptual space is shaped by motor knowledge rather than simply constructed from visual input.
Zimmermann
Eckart
E
Psychologisches Institut II, Westf. Wilhelms Universität, Fliednerstrasse, Münster, Germany. eckartzi@gmail.com
Lappe
Markus
M
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*