Attention Allocation for Voluntary Smooth Eye Movements

描述（由申请人提供）：平滑追求通常是用小的、斑点的刺激来研究的，但扩展的自然物体会刺激周围的视网膜，并具有感兴趣的特征。目前尚不清楚周边运动是如何与追逐相互作用的，也不知道在追逐过程中注意力是如何分配到特征上的。我们有证据表明，外周运动通过减少扫视来改善追求，并且当中央凹追求负担减轻时，注意力不会锁定在中央凹上，而是可以灵活地分配到外周。此外，试验数据显示，仅仅将注意力从中央窝转移就能提高追踪能力。因此，结合外周视网膜的运动系统可以更顺利地驱动眼球追踪，并允许一个专注的过程同时监测局部运动特征，我们的试验数据支持这一假设。此外，我们发现这些追踪和特征监测系统的注意力资源似乎是分开的。具体目标有：目标1)追求过程中的注意力分配是否灵活？实验将评估在控制低水平特征（如亮度瞬变）的同时操纵中央凹注意力需求的条件下的注意力分配。目标2)在追逐过程中，中央凹注意力是否会增加眼跳？本实验旨在测量追求和操纵注意以及视网膜刺激的轨迹。目标3)多元素刺激是否同时支持独立的眼球和注意力运动？实验利用注意操作特征（attention operating characteristic， AOC）分析了追求和特征跟踪的注意资源是否相互独立。其他实验将确定是否只关注被关注的元素，如果是，注意是否仍然来自两个来源。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Smooth pursuit is usually studied with small, spot stimuli, yet extended natural objects stimulate peripheral retina and have features of interest. It is unknown how peripheral motion interacts with pursuit, or how attention is allocated to features during it. We have evidence that peripheral motion improves pursuit by minimizing saccades, and that attention is not locked to the fovea, but can be allocated flexibly to the periphery when the foveal pursuit burden is reduced. Furthermore, pilot data show that merely diverting attention from the fovea improves pursuit. It follows that a motion system incorporating peripheral retina can drive ocular pursuit more smoothly and allow an attentive process to simultaneously monitor local motion features, and our pilot data support this hypothesis. In addition we find that attentional resources for these pursuit and feature monitoring systems appear to be separate. Specific Aims are: Aim 1) Is attention allocation during pursuit flexible? Experiments will assess attention allocation under conditions that manipulate foveal attention demands while controlling for low-level features such as luminance transients. Aim 2) Does foveal attention increase saccades during pursuit? Experiments in this aim measure pursuit and manipulate attention and the locus of retinal stimulation. Aim 3) Do multi-element stimuli simultaneously support independent eye and attention movements? Experiments investigate whether attentional resources for pursuit and feature tracking are independent using attention operating characteristic (AOC) analysis. Other experiments will determine if only the attended elements are pursued, and if they are, if attention still arises from two sources. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Our project has relevance to Age-Related Maculopathy (ARM), an eye disease that can result in permanent damage of the central retina, since it addresses foveal as well as peripheral contributions to pursuit. It is widely accepted that ARM is the leading cause of severe visual impairment in the U.S. and in other industrialized countries. Understanding how peripheral and foveal information are processed during pursuit is key for helping patients with ARM learn to maintain clear vision of moving objects. Previous work studying pursuit with central visual loss has used small spot targets, and focused on how the spot was pursued with their new preferred retinal locus (PRL). Knowledge of peripheral and foveal contributions during pursuit could help guide oculomotor therapy on ARM patients who have lost use of their foveae.