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Liu X, Melcher D, Carrasco M, Hanning NM. Pre-saccadic Preview Shapes Post-Saccadic Processing More Where Perception is Poor. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.05.18.541028. [PMID: 37292871 PMCID: PMC10245755 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.18.541028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The pre-saccadic preview of a peripheral target enhances the efficiency of its post-saccadic processing, termed the extrafoveal preview effect. Peripheral visual performance -and thus the quality of the preview- varies around the visual field, even at iso-eccentric locations: it is better along the horizontal than vertical meridian and along the lower than upper vertical meridian. To investigate whether these polar angle asymmetries influence the preview effect, we asked human participants (to preview four tilted gratings at the cardinals, until a central cue indicated to which one to saccade. During the saccade, the target orientation either remained or slightly changed (valid/invalid preview). After saccade landing, participants discriminated the orientation of the (briefly presented) second grating. Stimulus contrast was titrated with adaptive staircases to assess visual performance. Expectedly, valid previews increased participants' post-saccadic contrast sensitivity. This preview benefit, however, was inversely related to polar angle perceptual asymmetries; largest at the upper, and smallest at the horizontal meridian. This finding reveals that the visual system compensates for peripheral asymmetries when integrating information across saccades, by selectively assigning higher weights to the less-well perceived preview information. Our study supports the recent line of evidence showing that perceptual dynamics around saccades vary with eye movement direction.
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Hanning NM, Himmelberg MM, Carrasco M. Presaccadic Attention Depends on Eye Movement Direction and Is Related to V1 Cortical Magnification. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1023232023. [PMID: 38316562 PMCID: PMC10957215 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1023-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
With every saccadic eye movement, humans bring new information into their fovea to be processed with high visual acuity. Notably, perception is enhanced already before a relevant item is foveated: During saccade preparation, presaccadic attention shifts to the upcoming fixation location, which can be measured via behavioral correlates such as enhanced visual performance or modulations of sensory feature tuning. The coupling between saccadic eye movements and attention is assumed to be robust and mandatory and considered a mechanism facilitating the integration of pre- and postsaccadic information. However, until recently it had not been investigated as a function of saccade direction. Here, we measured contrast response functions during fixation and saccade preparation in male and female observers and found that the pronounced response gain benefit typically elicited by presaccadic attention is selectively lacking before upward saccades at the group level-some observers even showed a cost. Individual observer's sensitivity before upward saccades was negatively related to their amount of surface area in primary visual cortex representing the saccade target, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism that optimizes the use of the limited neural resources processing the upper vertical meridian. Our results raise the question of how perceptual continuity is achieved and how upward saccades can be accurately targeted despite the lack of-theoretically required-presaccadic attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
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Guzhang Y, Shelchkova N, Clark AM, Poletti M. Ultra-fine resolution of pre-saccadic attention in the fovea. Curr Biol 2024; 34:147-155.e2. [PMID: 38154463 PMCID: PMC10842882 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Microsaccades, the tiny gaze relocations that occurr during fixation, have been linked to covert attention deployed degrees away from the center of gaze. However, the link between attention and microsaccades is deeper in that it also unfolds at the foveal scale. Here, we have examined the spatial grain of pre-microsaccadic attention across the 1° foveola. Through the use of high-precision eye-tracking and gaze-contingent display system that achieves arcminute precision in gaze localization, we have shown that the spotlight of attention at this scale can reach a strikingly high resolution, in the order of 0.17°. Further, when a microsaccade occurs, vision is modulated in a peculiar way across the foveola; whereas fine spatial vision is enhanced at the microsaccade goal location, it drops at the very center of gaze, where acuity is normally highest. These results reveal the finesse of the visuomotor system and of the interplay between eye movements and attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Guzhang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Natalya Shelchkova
- Graduate Program in Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Ashley M Clark
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Martina Poletti
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14627, USA; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, 361 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
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Kurzawski JW, Pombo M, Burchell A, Hanning NM, Liao S, Majaj NJ, Pelli DG. EasyEyes - A new method for accurate fixation in online vision testing. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1255465. [PMID: 38094145 PMCID: PMC10718086 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1255465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Online methods allow testing of larger, more diverse populations, with much less effort than in-lab testing. However, many psychophysical measurements, including visual crowding, require accurate eye fixation, which is classically achieved by testing only experienced observers who have learned to fixate reliably, or by using a gaze tracker to restrict testing to moments when fixation is accurate. Alas, both approaches are impractical online as online observers tend to be inexperienced, and online gaze tracking, using the built-in webcam, has a low precision (±4 deg). EasyEyes open-source software reliably measures peripheral thresholds online with accurate fixation achieved in a novel way, without gaze tracking. It tells observers to use the cursor to track a moving crosshair. At a random time during successful tracking, a brief target is presented in the periphery. The observer responds by identifying the target. To evaluate EasyEyes fixation accuracy and thresholds, we tested 12 naive observers in three ways in a counterbalanced order: first, in the laboratory, using gaze-contingent stimulus presentation; second, in the laboratory, using EasyEyes while independently monitoring gaze using EyeLink 1000; third, online at home, using EasyEyes. We find that crowding thresholds are consistent and individual differences are conserved. The small root mean square (RMS) fixation error (0.6 deg) during target presentation eliminates the need for gaze tracking. Thus, this method enables fixation-dependent measurements online, for easy testing of larger and more diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan W. Kurzawski
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Maria Pombo
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Augustin Burchell
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Nina M. Hanning
- Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Simon Liao
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Najib J. Majaj
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Denis G. Pelli
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
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Kurzawski JW, Pombo M, Burchell A, Hanning NM, Liao S, Majaj NJ, Pelli DG. EasyEyes - Accurate fixation for online vision testing of crowding and beyond. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.14.549019. [PMID: 37503301 PMCID: PMC10370065 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.14.549019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Online methods allow testing of larger, more diverse populations, with much less effort than in-lab testing. However, many psychophysical measurements, including visual crowding, require accurate eye fixation, which is classically achieved by testing only experienced observers who have learned to fixate reliably, or by using a gaze tracker to restrict testing to moments when fixation is accurate. Alas, both approaches are impractical online since online observers tend to be inexperienced, and online gaze tracking, using the built-in webcam, has a low precision (±4 deg, Papoutsaki et al., 2016). The EasyEyes open-source software reliably measures peripheral thresholds online with accurate fixation achieved in a novel way, without gaze tracking. EasyEyes tells observers to use the cursor to track a moving crosshair. At a random time during successful tracking, a brief target is presented in the periphery. The observer responds by identifying the target. To evaluate EasyEyes fixation accuracy and thresholds, we tested 12 naive observers in three ways in a counterbalanced order: first, in the lab, using gaze-contingent stimulus presentation (Kurzawski et al., 2023; Pelli et al., 2016); second, in the lab, using EasyEyes while independently monitoring gaze; third, online at home, using EasyEyes. We find that crowding thresholds are consistent (no significant differences in mean and variance of thresholds across ways) and individual differences are conserved. The small root mean square (RMS) fixation error (0.6 deg) during target presentation eliminates the need for gaze tracking. Thus, EasyEyes enables fixation-dependent measurements online, for easy testing of larger and more diverse populations.
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Himmelberg MM, Winawer J, Carrasco M. Polar angle asymmetries in visual perception and neural architecture. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:445-458. [PMID: 37031051 PMCID: PMC10192146 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
Human visual performance changes with visual field location. It is best at the center of gaze and declines with eccentricity, and also varies markedly with polar angle. These perceptual polar angle asymmetries are linked to asymmetries in the organization of the visual system. We review and integrate research quantifying how performance changes with visual field location and how this relates to neural organization at multiple stages of the visual system. We first briefly review how performance varies with eccentricity and the neural foundations of this effect. We then focus on perceptual polar angle asymmetries and their neural foundations. Characterizing perceptual and neural variations across and around the visual field contributes to our understanding of how the brain translates visual signals into neural representations which form the basis of visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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Palmieri H, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Microsaccades and temporal attention at different locations of the visual field. J Vis 2023; 23:6. [PMID: 37145653 PMCID: PMC10168009 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.5.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal attention, the prioritization of information at specific points in time, improves performance in behavioral tasks but cannot ameliorate the perceptual asymmetries that exist across the visual field. That is, even after attentional deployment, performance is better along the horizontal than vertical meridian and worse at the upper than lower vertical meridian. Here we asked whether and how microsaccades-tiny fixational eye-movements-could mirror or alternatively attempt to compensate for these performance asymmetries by assessing temporal profiles and direction of microsaccades as a function of visual field location. Observers were asked to report the orientation of one of two targets presented at different time points, in one of three blocked locations (fovea, right horizontal meridian, upper vertical meridian). We found the following: (1) Microsaccade occurrence did not affect either task performance or the magnitude of the temporal attention effect. (2) Temporal attention modulated the microsaccade temporal profiles, and this modulation varied with polar angle location. At all locations, microsaccade rates were significantly more suppressed in anticipation of the target when temporally cued than in the neutral condition. Moreover, microsaccade rates were more suppressed during target presentation in the fovea than in the right horizontal meridian. (3) Across locations and attention conditions, there was a pronounced bias toward the upper hemifield. Overall, these results reveal that temporal attention benefits performance similarly around the visual field, microsaccade suppression is more pronounced for attention than expectation (neutral trials) across locations, and the directional bias toward the upper hemifield could reflect an attempt to compensate for typical poor performance at the upper vertical meridian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Palmieri
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Antonio Fernández
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas in Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Abstract
Visual perception is limited by spatial resolution, the ability to discriminate fine details. Spatial resolution not only declines with eccentricity but also differs for polar angle locations around the visual field, also known as 'performance fields'. To compensate for poor peripheral resolution, we make rapid eye movements-saccades-to bring peripheral objects into high-acuity foveal vision. Already before saccade onset, visual attention shifts to the saccade target location and prioritizes visual processing. This presaccadic shift of attention improves performance in many visual tasks, but whether it changes resolution is unknown. Here, we investigated whether presaccadic attention sharpens peripheral spatial resolution; and if so, whether such effect interacts with performance fields asymmetries. We measured acuity thresholds in an orientation discrimination task during fixation and saccade preparation around the visual field. The results revealed that presaccadic attention sharpens acuity, which can facilitate a smooth transition from peripheral to foveal representation. This acuity enhancement is similar across the four cardinal locations; thus, the typically robust effect of presaccadic attention does not change polar angle differences in resolution.
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Moussaoui S, Pereira CF, Niemeier M. Working memory in action: Transsaccadic working memory deficits in the left visual field and after transcallosal remapping. Cortex 2023; 159:26-38. [PMID: 36608419 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Every waking second, we make three saccadic eye movements that move our retinal images. Thus, to attain a coherent image of the world we need to remember visuo-spatial information across saccades. But transsaccadic working memory (tWM) remains poorly understood. Crucially, there has been a debate whether there are any differences in tWM for the left vs. right visual field and depending on saccade direction. However, previous studies have probed tWM with minimal loads whereas spatial differences might arise with higher loads. Here we employed a task that probed higher memory load for spatial information in the left and right visual field and with horizontal as well as vertical saccades. We captured several measures of precision and accuracy of performance that, when submitted to principal component analysis, produced two components. Component 1, mainly associated with precision, yielded greater error for the left than the right visual field. Component 2 was associated with performance accuracy and unexpectedly produced a disadvantage after rightward saccades. Both components showed that performance was worse when rightward or leftward saccades afforded a shift of memory representations between visual fields compared to remapping within the same field. Our study offers several novel findings. It is the first to show that tWM involves at least two components likely reflecting working memory capacity and strategic aspects of working memory, respectively. Reduced capacity for the left, rather than the right visual field is consistent with how the left and right visual fields are known to be represented in the two hemispheres. Remapping difficulties between visual fields is consistent with the limited information transfer across the corpus callosum. Finally, the impact of rightward saccades on working memory might be due to greater interference of the accompanying shifts of attention. Our results highlight the dynamic nature of transsaccadic working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simar Moussaoui
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Christina F Pereira
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Matthias Niemeier
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada; Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Vision Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Himmelberg MM, Winawer J, Carrasco M. Linking individual differences in human primary visual cortex to contrast sensitivity around the visual field. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3309. [PMID: 35697680 PMCID: PMC9192713 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31041-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
A central question in neuroscience is how the organization of cortical maps relates to perception, for which human primary visual cortex (V1) is an ideal model system. V1 nonuniformly samples the retinal image, with greater cortical magnification (surface area per degree of visual field) at the fovea than periphery and at the horizontal than vertical meridian. Moreover, the size and cortical magnification of V1 varies greatly across individuals. Here, we used fMRI and psychophysics in the same observers to quantify individual differences in V1 cortical magnification and contrast sensitivity at the four polar angle meridians. Across observers, the overall size of V1 and localized cortical magnification positively correlated with contrast sensitivity. Moreover, greater cortical magnification and higher contrast sensitivity at the horizontal than the vertical meridian were strongly correlated. These data reveal a link between cortical anatomy and visual perception at the level of individual observer and stimulus location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
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