Visual attention is not deployed at the endpoint of averaging saccades

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2006548
• Publication Date: 2018-06-25T17:30:02Z
• Authors: Luca Wollenberg; Heiner Deubel; Martin Szinte
• Keywords: Covert; Visual Search; Microsaccade; Salience (neuroscience); Saccadic eye movement

The premotor theory of attention postulates that spatial arises from the activation saccade areas and deployment is consequence motor programming. Yet attentional oculomotor processes have been shown to be dissociable at neuronal level in covert tasks. To investigate a potential dissociation behavioral level, we instructed human participants move their eyes (saccade) towards 1 2 nearby, competing targets. distribution visual was determined using oriented stimuli presented either target locations, between them, or several other equidistant locations. Results demonstrate accurate saccades one targets were associated with presaccadic enhancement sensitivity respective endpoint compared nonsaccaded location. In contrast, averaging saccades, landing targets, not facilitation endpoint. Rather, before equally deployed Taken together, our results reveal obligatorily coupled subsequent saccade. suggest program depends on state selection onset unresolved selection.