The pupillary light response reflects eye-movement preparation

S. Mathot; L. van der Linden; G. Jonathan; F. Vitu

doi:10.1167/14.10.203

The pupillary light response reflects eye-movement preparation.

Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance ◽

10.1037/a0038653 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 28-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Lotje van der Linden ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Françoise Vitu

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Light Response ◽

Movement Preparation ◽

Pupillary Light

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The pupillary light response reflects eye-movement preparation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.238 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Lotje van der Linden ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Françoise Vitu

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Light Response ◽

Movement Preparation ◽

Saccadic Eye Movement ◽

Cognitive Influences ◽

Gray Area ◽

Dynamic Movement ◽

Pupillary Light ◽

Central Gray ◽

Saccade Preparation

When the eyes are exposed to an increased influx of light, the pupils constrict. The pupillary light response (PLR) is traditionally believed to be purely reflexive and not susceptible to cognitive influences. In contrast to this traditional view, we report here that preparation of a PLR occurs in parallel with preparation of a saccadic eye movement towards a bright (or dark) stimulus, even before the eyes set in motion. Participants fixated a central gray area and made a saccade towards a peripheral target. Using gaze-contingent display changes, we manipulated whether or not the brightness of the target background was the same during and after saccade preparation. More specifically, on some trials we changed the brightness of the target background as soon as the eyes set in motion, thus dissociating the preparatory PLR (i.e. to the brightness of the target background before the saccade) from the 'regular' PLR (i.e. to the brightness after the saccade). We show that a PLR to the brightness of the to-be-fixated target background is prepared before the eyes set in motion. This reduces the latency of the PLR by approximately 100 ms. We link our findings to the pre-saccadic shift of attention: The pupil prepares to adjusts its size to the brightness of a to-be-fixated stimulus as soon as attention covertly shifts towards that stimulus, about 100 ms before a saccade is executed. Our findings illustrate that the PLR is a dynamic movement that is tightly linked to visual attention and eye-movement preparation.

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The pupillary light response reflects eye-movement preparation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.238v2 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Lotje van der Linden ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Françoise Vitu

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Light Response ◽

Movement Preparation ◽

Saccadic Eye Movement ◽

Cognitive Influences ◽

Gray Area ◽

Dynamic Movement ◽

Pupillary Light ◽

Central Gray ◽

Saccade Preparation

When the eyes are exposed to an increased influx of light, the pupils constrict. The pupillary light response (PLR) is traditionally believed to be purely reflexive and not susceptible to cognitive influences. In contrast to this traditional view, we report here that preparation of a PLR occurs in parallel with preparation of a saccadic eye movement towards a bright (or dark) stimulus, even before the eyes set in motion. Participants fixated a central gray area and made a saccade towards a peripheral target. Using gaze-contingent display changes, we manipulated whether or not the brightness of the target background was the same during and after saccade preparation. More specifically, on some trials we changed the brightness of the target background as soon as the eyes set in motion, thus dissociating the preparatory PLR (i.e. to the brightness of the target background before the saccade) from the 'regular' PLR (i.e. to the brightness after the saccade). We show that a PLR to the brightness of the to-be-fixated target background is prepared before the eyes set in motion. This reduces the latency of the PLR by approximately 100 ms. We link our findings to the pre-saccadic shift of attention: The pupil prepares to adjusts its size to the brightness of a to-be-fixated stimulus as soon as attention covertly shifts towards that stimulus, about 100 ms before a saccade is executed. Our findings illustrate that the PLR is a dynamic movement that is tightly linked to visual attention and eye-movement preparation.

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Supplemental Material for The Pupillary Light Response Reflects Eye-Movement Preparation

Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance ◽

10.1037/a0038653.supp ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Light Response ◽

Movement Preparation ◽

Pupillary Light

Download Full-text

The pupillary light response reflects eye-movement preparation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.238v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Lotje van der Linden ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Françoise Vitu

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Light Response ◽

Movement Preparation ◽

Saccadic Eye Movement ◽

Cognitive Influences ◽

Gray Area ◽

Dynamic Movement ◽

Pupillary Light ◽

Central Gray ◽

Saccade Preparation

When the eyes are exposed to an increased influx of light, the pupils constrict. The pupillary light response (PLR) is traditionally believed to be purely reflexive and not susceptible to cognitive influences. In contrast to this traditional view, we report here that preparation of a PLR occurs in parallel with preparation of a saccadic eye movement towards a bright (or dark) stimulus, even before the eyes set in motion. Participants fixated a central gray area and made a saccade towards a peripheral target. Using gaze-contingent display changes, we manipulated whether or not the brightness of the target background was the same during and after saccade preparation. More specifically, on some trials we changed the brightness of the target background as soon as the eyes set in motion, thus dissociating the preparatory PLR (i.e. to the brightness of the target background before the saccade) from the 'regular' PLR (i.e. to the brightness after the saccade). We show that a PLR to the brightness of the to-be-fixated target background is prepared before the eyes set in motion. This reduces the latency of the PLR by approximately 100 ms. We link our findings to the pre-saccadic shift of attention: The pupil prepares to adjusts its size to the brightness of a to-be-fixated stimulus as soon as attention covertly shifts towards that stimulus, about 100 ms before a saccade is executed. Our findings illustrate that the PLR is a dynamic movement that is tightly linked to visual attention and eye-movement preparation.

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The pupillary light response reflects exogenous attention and inhibition of return

10.7287/peerj.preprints.422v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Edwin S. Dalmaijer ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Stefan Van der Stigchel

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Inhibition Of Return ◽

Light Response ◽

Dark Side ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Pupillary Light ◽

Bright Side ◽

Exogenous Cue ◽

Behavioral Phenomenon

Here we show that the pupillary light response reflects exogenous (involuntary) shifts of attention and inhibition of return. Participants fixated in the center of a display that was divided into a bright and a dark half. An exogenous cue attracted attention to the bright or dark side of the display. Initially, the pupil constricted when the bright, as compared to the dark side of the display was cued, reflecting a shift of attention towards the exogenous cue. Crucially, this pattern reversed about one second after cue presentation. This later-occurring, relative dilation (when the bright side was cued) reflected disengagement from the previously attended location, analogous to the behavioral phenomenon of inhibition of return. Indeed, we observed a strong correlation between 'pupillary inhibition' and behavioral inhibition of return. We conclude that the pupillary light response is a complex eye movement that reflects how we selectively parse and interpret visual input.

Download Full-text

The pupillary light response reflects exogenous attention and inhibition of return

10.7287/peerj.preprints.422 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽

Edwin S. Dalmaijer ◽

Jonathan Grainger ◽

Stefan Van der Stigchel

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Inhibition Of Return ◽

Light Response ◽

Dark Side ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Pupillary Light ◽

Bright Side ◽

Exogenous Cue ◽

Behavioral Phenomenon

Here we show that the pupillary light response reflects exogenous (involuntary) shifts of attention and inhibition of return. Participants fixated in the center of a display that was divided into a bright and a dark half. An exogenous cue attracted attention to the bright or dark side of the display. Initially, the pupil constricted when the bright, as compared to the dark side of the display was cued, reflecting a shift of attention towards the exogenous cue. Crucially, this pattern reversed about one second after cue presentation. This later-occurring, relative dilation (when the bright side was cued) reflected disengagement from the previously attended location, analogous to the behavioral phenomenon of inhibition of return. Indeed, we observed a strong correlation between 'pupillary inhibition' and behavioral inhibition of return. We conclude that the pupillary light response is a complex eye movement that reflects how we selectively parse and interpret visual input.

Download Full-text