Differential Influence of Attention on Gaze and Head Movements

Abstract

Khan AZ, Blohm G, McPeek RM, Lefèvre P. Differential influence of attention on gaze and head movements. J Neurophysiol 101: 198 -206, 2009. First published November 5, 2008 doi:10.1152/jn.90815.2008. A salient peripheral cue can capture attention, influencing subsequent responses to a target. Attentional cueing effects have been studied for head-restrained saccades; however, under natural conditions, the head contributes to gaze shifts. We asked whether attention influences head movements in combined eye-head gaze shifts and, if so, whether this influence is different for the eye and head components. Subjects made combined eye-head gaze shifts to horizontal visual targets. Prior to target onset, a behaviorally irrelevant cue was flashed at the same (congruent) or opposite (incongruent) location at various stimulusonset asynchrony (SOA) times. We measured eye and head movements and neck muscle electromyographic signals. Reaction times for the eye and head were highly correlated; both showed significantly shorter latencies (attentional facilitation) for congruent compared with incongruent cues at the two shortest SOAs and the opposite pattern (inhibition of return) at the longer SOAs, consistent with attentional modulation of a common eye-head gaze drive. Interestingly, we also found that the head latency relative to saccade onset was significantly shorter for congruent than that for incongruent cues. This suggests an effect of attention on the head separate from that on the eyes. I N T R O D U C T I O NUnder natural, head-unrestrained viewing conditions, saccades are typically composed of a combination of eye and head movements resulting in an overall gaze shift. The role of attention in saccadic eye movements has been studied extensively in head-restrained conditions. It has been established that saccade execution requires a shift of attention to the saccade goal (e.g., Deubel and Schneider 1996;Hoffman and Subramaniam 1995;Kowler et al. 1995;McPeek et al. 1999), indicating a close linkage between eye movements and attention. Such a linkage is also supported by a number of studies showing shared neural substrates for saccadic eye movement planning and attentional processing (e.g., Beauchamp et al.

The efference cascade, consciousness, and its self: naturalizing the first person pivot of action control

“…Functionally, a unitary displacement of the gaze from one target location to another is typically effected by a minimum of two partly independent but linked motor systems, those of eyes and head. The most caudally located premotor site for unitary specification of gaze displacements is the superior colliculus in the roof—tectum—of the midbrain [(Munoz et al, 1991; Freedman et al, 1996; Freedman and Sparks, 1997; Scudder et al, 2002); reviewed in Sparks (2004); see also (Khan et al, 2009)]. Downstream from the superior colliculus the circuitry for control of eyes and head again diverge (Masino, 1992; Scudder et al, 2002; Sparks, 2004; Horn, 2006).…”

Large-scale Networks for Attentional Biases

“…Contemporary research continues to explore the nature and degree of functional and neural overlap between eye movements and attention, as well as the mechanisms which enable the two functions to be dissociated during covert attention (e.g. Juan et al 2004;Cohen et al 2009;Khan et al 2009;Lawrence and Snyder 2009;Bisley and Goldberg 2010;see also Deubel (in chapter 30), this volume, Theeuwes (in chapter 8), this volume; Gottlieb and Balan 2010;Wardak et al 2011;Belopolsky and Theeuwes 2012;Gregoriou et al 2012). Although oculomotor circuits may play a primary role in the network for spatial attention, studies have suggested that other sensorimotor circuits, specialized for different forms of spatially guided action (e.g.…”

On the link between attentional search and the oculomotor system: Is preattentive search restricted to the range of eye movements?

“…Note that many regions known to be involved in saccadic eye movements such as the FEF or the SC are also involved in combined eye-head movements. Several studies shown that a single gaze controller is responsible for programming both the eye and the head (e.g., Khan, Blohm, McPeek, & Lefevre, 2009). In this regard, proponents of OMRH/premotor theory might argue that the ability to prepare for a combined eyehead movement could have still mediate attention shifts (e.g., Cicchini, Valsecchi, & de'Sperati, 2008).…”