Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability
Across saccades, small displacements of a visual target are harder to detect and their directions more difficult to discriminate than during steady fixation. Prominent theories of this effect, known as saccadic suppression of displacement, propose that it is due to a bias to assume object stability...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Vision |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/3/4/49 |
| _version_ | 1818039086632402944 |
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| author | Sabine Born |
| author_facet | Sabine Born |
| author_sort | Sabine Born |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Across saccades, small displacements of a visual target are harder to detect and their directions more difficult to discriminate than during steady fixation. Prominent theories of this effect, known as saccadic suppression of displacement, propose that it is due to a bias to assume object stability across saccades. Recent studies comparing the saccadic effect to masking effects suggest that suppression of displacement is not saccade-specific. Further evidence for this account is presented from two experiments where participants judged the size of displacements on a continuous scale in saccade and mask conditions, with and without blanking. Saccades and masks both reduced the proportion of correctly perceived displacements and increased the proportion of missed displacements. Blanking improved performance in both conditions by reducing the proportion of missed displacements. Thus, if suppression of displacement reflects a bias for stability, it is not a saccade-specific bias, but a more general stability assumption revealed under conditions of impoverished vision. Specifically, I discuss the potentially decisive role of motion or other transient signals for displacement perception. Without transients or motion, the quality of relative position signals is poor, and saccadic and mask-induced suppression of displacement reflects performance when the decision has to be made on these signals alone. Blanking may improve those position signals by providing a transient onset or a longer time to encode the pre-saccadic target position. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:53:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de22a0e9590f4d1aa1c8157b2af97ed4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2411-5150 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:53:03Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vision |
| spelling | doaj.art-de22a0e9590f4d1aa1c8157b2af97ed42022-12-22T01:56:59ZengMDPI AGVision2411-51502019-09-01344910.3390/vision3040049vision3040049Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume StabilitySabine Born0Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l’Education, Université de Genève, 1205 Geneva, SwitzerlandAcross saccades, small displacements of a visual target are harder to detect and their directions more difficult to discriminate than during steady fixation. Prominent theories of this effect, known as saccadic suppression of displacement, propose that it is due to a bias to assume object stability across saccades. Recent studies comparing the saccadic effect to masking effects suggest that suppression of displacement is not saccade-specific. Further evidence for this account is presented from two experiments where participants judged the size of displacements on a continuous scale in saccade and mask conditions, with and without blanking. Saccades and masks both reduced the proportion of correctly perceived displacements and increased the proportion of missed displacements. Blanking improved performance in both conditions by reducing the proportion of missed displacements. Thus, if suppression of displacement reflects a bias for stability, it is not a saccade-specific bias, but a more general stability assumption revealed under conditions of impoverished vision. Specifically, I discuss the potentially decisive role of motion or other transient signals for displacement perception. Without transients or motion, the quality of relative position signals is poor, and saccadic and mask-induced suppression of displacement reflects performance when the decision has to be made on these signals alone. Blanking may improve those position signals by providing a transient onset or a longer time to encode the pre-saccadic target position.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/3/4/49saccadesmaskingdisplacement perceptionspatial stabilitymotion perception |
| spellingShingle | Sabine Born Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability Vision saccades masking displacement perception spatial stability motion perception |
| title | Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability |
| title_full | Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability |
| title_fullStr | Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability |
| title_short | Saccadic Suppression of Displacement Does Not Reflect a Saccade-Specific Bias to Assume Stability |
| title_sort | saccadic suppression of displacement does not reflect a saccade specific bias to assume stability |
| topic | saccades masking displacement perception spatial stability motion perception |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/3/4/49 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sabineborn saccadicsuppressionofdisplacementdoesnotreflectasaccadespecificbiastoassumestability |