Flexibility of foveal attention during ocular pursuit.

ABSTRACT: Smooth pursuit of natural objects requires flexible allocation of attention to inspect features. However, it has been reported that attention is focused at the fovea during pursuit. We ask here if foveal attention is obligatory during pursuit, or if it can be disengaged. Observers tracked a stimulus composed of a central dot surrounded by four others and identified one of the dots when it dimmed. Extinguishing the center dot before the dimming improved task performance, suggesting that attention was released from it. To determine if the center dot automatically usurped attention, we provided the pursuit system with an alternative sensory signal by adding peripheral motion that moved with the stimulus. This also improved identification performance, evidence that a central target does not ne

SUBMITTER: Heinen SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3920841 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature