An Investigation of Small Eye Movements and Contour Interaction in Visual Perception

Abstract

<p>A series of experiments was conducted to examine situational variation in small saccadic eye movements and their relationship to contour effects in visual perception. Both the amplitude distribution and the timing of saccade onsets were found to vary from one situation to another. Interaction between contours was demonstrated over separations of just a few minutes of arc. Where perception of a target contour was relatively unlikely there was a marked shift in the distribution of saccade amplitudes. The notion of a single neural mechanism initiating all saccades and the role of small saccadic eye movements in sustained perception were considered. In addition, similarities between contour interaction and the functional organization of visual cell receptive fields were discussed.</p>