Eye Movements and Visual Information Processing
Abstract
Eye movements place a limit on the processing of visual information because they determine the location and the velocity of the retinal image. Thus, to understand how we see it is necessary to understand how eye moments are controlled. Work this year in my laboratory has concentrated on the roles of expectations and selective attention in the programming of smooth and saccadic eye movements. We have: 1) demonstrated distinct roles for past experience and expectations in the control of smooth eye movement and found that expectation will predominate in the presence of cues about the direction of future motion; 2) found that brisk initial pursuit requires that expectation that target motion will continue; 3) showed that saccadic eye movements are not attracted to visual backgrounds (as had been claimed) unless subjects pay attention to the background. These studies show that central representations of visual scenes, containing information about the position, motion and future motion of selected objects, are the natural effective stimulus for human eye movement. Psychomotor tests; Psychology; Communication; Eye movement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 27, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA209817
Entities
People
- Eileen Kowler
Organizations
- Rutgers University Department of Psychology