Dataset Information

Modulations of foveal vision associated with microsaccade preparation.

ABSTRACT: It is known that attention shifts prior to a saccade to start processing the saccade target before it lands in the foveola, the high-resolution region of the retina. Yet, once the target is foveated, microsaccades, tiny saccades maintaining the fixated object within the fovea, continue to occur. What is the link between these eye movements and attention? There is growing evidence that these eye movements are associated with covert shifts of attention in the visual periphery, when the attended stimuli are presented far from the center of gaze. Yet, microsaccades are primarily used to explore complex foveal stimuli and to optimize fine spatial vision in the foveola, suggesting that the influences of microsaccades on attention may predominantly impact vision at this scale. To address this question we tracked gaze position with high precision and briefly presented high-acuity stimuli at predefined foveal locations right before microsaccade execution. Our results show that visual discrimination changes prior to microsaccade onset. An enhancement occurs at the microsaccade target location. This modulation is highly selective and it is coupled with a drastic impairment at the opposite foveal location, just a few arcminutes away. This effect is strongest when stimuli are presented closer to the eye movement onset time. These findings reveal that the link between attention and microsaccades is deeper than previously thought, exerting its strongest effects within the foveola. As a result, during fixation, foveal vision is constantly being reshaped both in space and in time with the occurrence of microsaccades.

SUBMITTER: Shelchkova N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7245104 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Modulations of foveal vision associated with microsaccade preparation.

Shelchkova Natalya N Poletti Martina M

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20200501 20

It is known that attention shifts prior to a saccade to start processing the saccade target before it lands in the foveola, the high-resolution region of the retina. Yet, once the target is foveated, microsaccades, tiny saccades maintaining the fixated object within the fovea, continue to occur. What is the link between these eye movements and attention? There is growing evidence that these eye movements are associated with covert shifts of attention in the visual periphery, when the attended st ...[more]

PMID: 32358186

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Project description:PurposeTo evaluate structural grading and quantitative segmentation of foveal hypoplasia using handheld OCT, versus preferential looking (PL), as predictors of future vision in preverbal children with infantile nystagmus.DesignLongitudinal cohort study.ParticipantsForty-two patients with infantile nystagmus (19 with albinism, 17 with idiopathic infantile nystagmus, and 6 with achromatopsia) were examined.MethodsSpectral-domain handheld OCT was performed in preverbal children up to 36 months of age. Foveal tomograms were graded using our 6-point grading system for foveal hypoplasia and were segmented for quantitative analysis: photoreceptor length, outer segment (OS) length, and foveal developmental index (FDI; a ratio of inner layers versus total foveal thickness). Patients were followed up until they could perform chart visual acuity (VA) testing. Data were analyzed using linear mixed regression models. Visual acuity predicted by foveal grading was compared with prediction by PL, the current gold standard for visual assessment in infants and young children.Main outcome measuresGrade of foveal hypoplasia, quantitative parameters (photoreceptor length, OS length, FDI), and PL VA were obtained in preverbal children for comparison with future chart VA outcomes.ResultsWe imaged 81 eyes from 42 patients with infantile nystagmus of mean age 19.8 months (range, 0.9-33.4 months; standard deviation [SD], 9.4 months) at the first handheld OCT scan. Mean follow-up was 44.1 months (range, 18.4-63.2 months; SD, 12.0 months). Structural grading was the strongest predictor of future VA (grading: r = 0.80, F = 67.49, P < 0.0001) compared with quantitative measures (FDI: r = 0.74, F = 28.81, P < 0.001; OS length: r = 0.65; F = 7.94, P < 0.008; photoreceptor length: r = 0.65; F = 7.94, P < 0.008). Preferential looking was inferior to VA prediction by foveal grading (PL: r = 0.42, F = 3.12, P < 0.03).ConclusionsHandheld OCT can predict future VA in infantile nystagmus. Structural grading is a better predictor of future VA than quantitative segmentation and PL testing. Predicting future vision may avert parental anxiety and may optimize childhood development.

Dataset Information

Modulations of foveal vision associated with microsaccade preparation.

Publications

Modulations of foveal vision associated with microsaccade preparation.

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