Volume 62, Issue 1 e14715
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Early visual modulation and selection predict saccadic timing during visual search: An ERP study

Ryan V. Ringer

Corresponding Author

Ryan V. Ringer

Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA

Correspondence

Ryan V. Ringer, Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box 173, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Carly J. Leonard

Carly J. Leonard

Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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First published: 26 October 2024
Citations: 1

Abstract

Saccadic eye movements, a critical aspect of real-world visual behavior, are preceded by an initial accumulation of visual information followed by the selection of a single location to move one's eyes. However, it is currently unclear how each of these stages uniquely affects saccadic timing. In this study, participants searched for a contour integration target while EEG was used to measure posterior cortical activity between search display onset and first saccade initiation. The goal was to determine whether saccade timing could be attributed to differences in early ERP amplitudes, with the P1 reflecting the magnitude of early perceptual information accumulation and the N1 reflecting the strength of selection leading to the saccadic decision. EOG was used to measure saccade timing, and trials were divided into fast, middle, and slow bins. The N1 response was smallest in the slow saccade tertile, relative to both the fast and middle tertiles, suggesting weak selection. In contrast, the P1 response was largest for this same slow saccadic tertile relative to the middle saccadic tertile, suggesting vigorous information accumulation. Therefore, delays in saccadic behavior may occur when the visual system is overwhelmed with visual input, thus increasing the time to reach a saccadic decision. These findings reconcile models of eye movement behavior which often prioritize either the impact of information accrual or selection, rather than regarding both as an integrated whole.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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