The influence of image content on oculomotor plasticity

Abstract

When we observe a scene, we shift our gaze to different points of interest via saccadic eye movements. Saccades provide high resolution views of objects and are essential for vision. The successful view of an interesting target might constitute a rewarding experience to the oculomotor system. We measured the influence of image content on learning efficiency in saccade control. We compared meaningful pictures to luminance and spatial frequency-matched random noise images in a saccadic adaptation paradigm. In this paradigm a shift of the target during the saccades results in a gradual increase of saccade amplitude. Stimuli were masked at different times after saccade onset. For immediate masking of the stimuli, as well as for their permanent visibility, saccadic adaptation was similar for both types of targets. However, when stimuli were masked 200 ms after saccade onset, adaptation of saccades directed toward the meaningful target stimuli was significantly greater than that of saccades directed toward noise targets. Thus, the percept of a meaningful image at the saccade landing position facilitates learning of the appropriate parameters for saccadic motor control when time constraints exist. We conclude that oculomotor learning, which is traditionally considered a low-level and highly automatized process, is modulated by the visual content of the image.

New is always better: Novelty modulates oculomotor learning

“…These results lend further support to the recent discussion that saccadic adaptation involves more than a simple, automatic, error-based, low-level motor learning process (Collins & Wallman, 2012;Herman, Blangero, Madelain, Khan, & Harwood, 2013; LevyBencheton, Pisella, Salemme, Tilikete, & Pelisson, 2013;Madelain, Paeye, & Wallman, 2011;Meermeier et al, 2016;Panouilleres et al, 2014;Schütz & Souto, 2015;Zimmermann & Lappe, 2016). The top-down modulation on adaptation of scanning saccades observed in the present study may originate from frontal cortical areas or from the basal ganglia.…”

“…These results are similar to those of Meermeier et al (2016), who found an increased amount of adaptation but no difference in learning rate when comparing meaningful images of female human figures with luminance-and spatial-frequency-matched noise. Hence, both comparisons (image to noise and novel to repeating stimuli) resulted in a higher amount of saccadic adaptation.…”

“…Stimuli and procedures followed the study of Meermeier et al (2016). To investigate the influence of novelty on saccadic adaptation, we compared saccadic adaptation to targets that either always showed the same image or showed a different image in each trial.…”

“…For example, saccadic peak velocity is increased for saccades toward images of faces (Xu-Wilson, Zee, & Shadmehr, 2009), and latency is reduced (Collins, 2012). The content of a visual stimulus also influences oculomotor learning in saccadic adaptation (Meermeier, Gremmler, & Lappe, 2016). Saccadic adaptation is a process that aims at keeping saccades accurate in case of muscle weakness or other alterations of the oculomotor plant.…”

“…As saccades are usually made in order to look at things, a successful view of the target might be a rewarding situation to the sensorimotor system (Collins, 2012;Collins & Wallman, 2012;Madelain, Paeye, & Wallman, 2011b;Meermeier et al, 2016). In that sense, it is possible to look at saccades as operant behavior (Madelain, Paeye, & Darcheville, 2011) and the foveal view of the image as a reinforcing event.…”