Saccade adaptation is unhampered by distractors.
Saccade adaptation has been extensively studied using a paradigm in which a target is displaced during the saccade, inducing an adjustment in saccade amplitude or direction. These changes in saccade amplitude are widely considered to be controlled by the post-saccadic position of the target relative to the fovea. However, because such experiments generally employ only a single target on an otherwise blank screen, the question remains whether the same adaptation could occur if both the target and a similar distractor were present when the saccade landed. To investigate this issue, three experiments were conducted, in which the post-saccadic locations of the target and distractor were varied. Results showed that decreased amplitude adaptation, increased amplitude adaptation, and recovery from adaptation were controlled by the post-saccadic position of the target rather than the distractor. These results imply that target selection is critical to saccade adaptation.
Laboratoire Ureca, UFR de Psychologie, Université Lille Nord de France, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. laurent.madelain@univ-lille3.fr
Laurent
L
Madelain
Mark R
MR
Harwood
James P
JP
Herman
Josh
J
Wallman
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*