Between-object and within-object saccade programming in a visual search task

Abstract

The role of the perceptual organization of the visual display on eye movement control was examined in two experiments using a task where a two-saccade sequence was directed toward either a single elongated object or three separate shorter objects. In the first experiment, we examined the consequences for the second saccade of a small displacement of the whole display during the first saccade. We found that between-object saccades compensated for the displacement to aim for a target position on the new object whereas within-object saccades did not show compensation but were coded as a fixed motor vector applied irrespective of wherever the preceding saccade landed. In the second experiment, we extended the paradigm to examine saccades performed in different directions. The results suggest that the within-object and between-object saccade distinction is an essential feature of saccadic planning.