Broda MD, Haddad T, de Haas B. Quick, eyes! Isolated upper face regions but not artificial features elicit rapid saccades.
J Vis 2023;
23:5. [PMID:
36749582 PMCID:
PMC9919614 DOI:
10.1167/jov.23.2.5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Human faces elicit faster saccades than objects or animals, resonating with the great importance of faces for our species. The underlying mechanisms are largely unclear. Here, we test two hypotheses based on previous findings. First, ultra-rapid saccades toward faces may not depend on the presence of the whole face, but the upper face region containing the eye region. Second, ultra-rapid saccades toward faces (and possibly face parts) may emerge from our extensive experience with this stimulus and thus extend to glasses and masks - artificial features frequently encountered as part of a face. To test these hypotheses, we asked 43 participants to complete a saccadic choice task, which contrasted images of whole, upper and lower faces, face masks, and glasses with car images. The resulting data confirmed ultra-rapid saccades for isolated upper face regions, but not for artificial facial features.
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