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Vilotijević A, Mathôt S. Emphasis on peripheral vision is accompanied by pupil dilation. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1848-1856. [PMID: 37069422 PMCID: PMC10716087 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02283-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
People are best able to detect stimuli in peripheral vision when their pupils are large, and best able to discriminate stimuli in central vision when their pupils are small. However, it is unclear whether our visual system makes use of this by dilating the pupils when attention is directed towards peripheral vision. Therefore, throughout three experiments (N = 100), we tested whether pupil size adapts to the "breadth" of attention. We found that pupils dilate with increasing attentional breadth, both when attention is diffusely spread and when attention is directed at specific locations in peripheral vision. Based on our results and others, we propose that cognitively driven pupil dilation is not an epiphenomenal marker of locus coeruleus activity, as is often assumed, but rather is an adaptive response that reflects an emphasis on peripheral vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Vilotijević
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Sebastiaan Mathôt
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Hsu TY, Wang HY, Chen JT, Wang CA. Investigating the role of human frontal eye field in the pupil light reflex modulation by saccade planning and working memory. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1044893. [DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1044893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The pupil constricts in response to an increase in global luminance level, commonly referred to as the pupil light reflex. Recent research has shown that these reflex responses are modulated by high-level cognition. There is larger pupil constriction evoked by a bright stimulus when the stimulus location spatially overlaps with the locus of attention, and these effects have been extended to saccade planning and working memory (here referred to as pupil local-luminance modulation). Although research in monkeys has further elucidated a central role of the frontal eye field (FEF) and superior colliculus in the pupil local-luminance modulation, their roles remain to be established in humans. Through applying continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right FEF (and vertex) to inhibit its activity, we investigated the role of the FEF in human pupil local-luminance responses. Pupil light reflex responses were transiently evoked by a bright patch stimulus presented during the delay period in the visual- and memory-delay tasks. In the visual-delay task, larger pupil constriction was observed when the patch location was spatially aligned with the target location in both stimulation conditions. More interestingly, after FEF stimulation, larger pupil constriction was obtained when the patch was presented in the contralateral, compared to the ipsilateral visual field of the stimulation. In contrast, FEF stimulation effects were absence in the memory-delay task. Linear mixed model results further found that stimulation condition, patch location consistency, and visual field significantly modulated observed pupil constriction responses. Together, our results constitute the first evidence of FEF modulation in human pupil local-luminance responses.
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Chen JT, Kuo YC, Hsu TY, Wang CA. Fatigue and Arousal Modulations Revealed by Saccade and Pupil Dynamics. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19159234. [PMID: 35954585 PMCID: PMC9367726 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19159234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Saccadic eye movements are directed to the objects of interests and enable high-resolution visual images in the exploration of the visual world. There is a trial-to-trial variation in saccade dynamics even in a simple task, possibly attributed to arousal fluctuations. Previous studies have showed that an increase of fatigue level over time, also known as time-on-task, can be revealed by saccade peak velocity. In addition, pupil size, controlled by the autonomic nervous system, has long been used as an arousal index. However, limited research has been done with regards to the relation between pupil size and saccade behavior in the context of trial-to-trial variation. To investigate fatigue and arousal effects on saccadic and pupillary responses, we used bright and emotional stimuli to evoke pupillary responses in tasks requiring reactive and voluntary saccade generation. Decreased voluntary saccade peak velocities, reduced tonic pupil size and phasic pupillary responses were observed as time-on-task increased. Moreover, tonic pupil size affected saccade latency and dynamics, with steeper saccade main sequence slope as tonic pupil size increased. In summary, saccade dynamics and tonic pupil size were sensitive to fatigue and arousal level, together providing valuable information for the understanding of human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui-Tai Chen
- Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan;
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Chun Kuo
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Science and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan;
- Cognitive Intelligence and Precision Healthcare Research Center, National Central University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Yu Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness (GIMBC), Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan;
- Brain and Consciousness Research Center (BCRC), TMU-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
| | - Chin-An Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Science and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan;
- Cognitive Intelligence and Precision Healthcare Research Center, National Central University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness (GIMBC), Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan;
- Brain and Consciousness Research Center (BCRC), TMU-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
- Correspondence:
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The oculomotor signature of expected surprise. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2543. [PMID: 35169177 PMCID: PMC8847614 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06403-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Expected surprise, defined as the anticipation of uncertainty associated with the occurrence of a future event, plays a major role in gaze shifting and spatial attention. In the present study, we analyzed its impact on oculomotor behavior. We hypothesized that the occurrence of anticipatory saccades could decrease with increasing expected surprise and that its influence on visually-guided responses could be different given the presence of sensory information and perhaps competitive attentional effects. This hypothesis was tested in humans using a saccadic reaction time task in which a cue indicated the future stimulus position. In the ‘no expected surprise’ condition, the visual target could appear only at one previously cued location. In other conditions, more likely future positions were cued with increasing expected surprise. Anticipation was more frequent and pupil size was larger in the ‘no expected surprise’ condition compared with all other conditions, probably due to increased arousal. The latency of visually-guided saccades increased linearly with the logarithm of surprise (following Hick’s law) but their maximum velocity repeated the arousal-related pattern. Therefore, expected surprise affects anticipatory and visually-guided responses differently. Moreover, these observations suggest a causal chain linking surprise, attention and saccades that could be disrupted in attentional or impulse control disorders.
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