Volume 8, Number 8, Article 3, Pages 1-16 doi:10.1167/8.8.3 http://journalofvision.org/8/8/3/ ISSN 1534-7362
How does saccade adaptation affect visual perception?
Teresa D. Hernandez
Vision Science Group, School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Carmel A. Levitan
Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley, CA, USA
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Martin S. Banks
Vision Science Group, School of Optometry, Department of Psychology, and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Clifton M. Schor
Vision Science Group, School of Optometry, and Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Abstract

Three signals are used to visually localize targets and stimulate saccades: (1) retinal location signals for intended saccade amplitude, (2) sensory-motor transform (SMT) of retinal signals to extra-ocular muscle innervation, and (3) estimates of eye position from extra-retinal signals. We investigated effects of adapting saccade amplitude to a double-step change in target location on perceived direction. In a flashed-pointing task, subjects pointed an unseen hand at a briefly displayed eccentric target without making a saccade. In a sustained-pointing task, subjects made a horizontal saccade to a double-step target. One second after the second step, they pointed an unseen hand at the final target position. After saccade-shortening adaptation, there was little change in hand-pointing azimuth toward the flashed target suggesting that most saccade adaptation was caused by changes in the SMT. After saccade-lengthening adaptation, there were small changes in hand-pointing azimuth to flashed targets, indicating that 1/3 of saccade adaptation was caused by changes in estimated retinal location signals and 2/3 by changes in the SMT. The sustained hand-pointing task indicated that estimates of eye position adapted inversely with changes of the SMT. Changes in perceived direction resulting from saccade adaptation are mainly influenced by extra-retinal factors with a small retinal component in the lengthening condition.

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History
Received September 17, 2007; published June 2, 2008
Citation
Hernandez, T. D., Levitan, C. A., Banks, M. S., & Schor, C. M. (2008). How does saccade adaptation affect visual perception? Journal of Vision, 8(8):3, 1-16, http://journalofvision.org/8/8/3/, doi:10.1167/8.8.3.
Keywords
saccade adaptation, extra-retinal, retinal, sensory-motor, pointing, eye movements
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