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The temporal dynamics of the distractor in the global effect

Experimental Brain Research volume 234, pages 2457–2463 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

In the global effect, saccades are displaced towards a distractor if the latter is near to the target, an effect thought to reflect spatial averaging in neurons of the superior colliculus. The temporal dynamics of the global effect have not been well studied, however. We had twelve subjects perform horizontal saccades to a target in trials in which there were either no distractor or a distractor stimulus located 20° above or below the target. The distractor appeared either simultaneously with the target or preceded it by an interval of between 100 and 800 ms, and was either flashed for only 100 ms or remained visible until the subject responded with a saccade. Both flashed and persistent distractors reduced saccadic latency if they preceded target onset, indicating that subjects could use this cue to prepare saccades in advance. Saccadic endpoint was displaced towards a flashed distractor only if it was simultaneous with the target. However, persistent distractors produced a global effect for both simultaneous presentation and distractor–target intervals of 100 ms, but not for longer intervals. We conclude that the global effect requires of the distractor both a recent onset and persistence of the distractor, and that distractor-related activity decays rapidly within 300 ms.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by CIHR operating grant MOP-81270. JB was supported by a Canada Research Chair and the Marianne Koerner Chair in Brain Diseases.

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Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    Woo Young Choi

  2. Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Woo Young Choi, Jayalakshmi Viswanathan & Jason J. S. Barton

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  1. Woo Young Choi
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  2. Jayalakshmi Viswanathan
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  3. Jason J. S. Barton
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Correspondence to Jason J. S. Barton.

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Choi, W.Y., Viswanathan, J. & Barton, J.J.S. The temporal dynamics of the distractor in the global effect. Exp Brain Res 234, 2457–2463 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4650-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4650-4

Keywords

  • Global effect
  • Saccade
  • Superior colliculus
  • Spatial averaging
  • Distractor