When do microsaccades follow spatial attention?

Laubrock, Jochen; Kliegl, Reinhold; Rolfs, Martin; Engbert, Ralf · 2010 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/app.72.3.683

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Summary

This study investigates the conditions under which microsaccades—small, saccade-like eye movements during fixation—serve as reliable indicators of covert spatial attention. The research addresses a debate regarding whether fixational eye movements reflect attentional shifts, specifically responding to claims that the predictive power of microsaccades is negligible. The authors hypothesize that the relationship between microsaccade direction and attention depends heavily on experimental conditions, particularly response modality and the temporal selection of microsaccades. The researchers conducted experiments using a Posner cuing task with 18 participants. Eye movements were recorded using a head-mounted EyeLink II system. The design manipulated response modality (manual keypress vs. saccadic response) and cue validity (valid, invalid, neutral). Microsaccades were detected and classified based on their occurrence within the cue–target interval (CTI). The analysis focused on three categories: single microsaccades, the first of several microsaccades, and the last of several. Crucially, the authors examined microsaccades occurring specifically between 200 and 400 milliseconds after cue presentation, a window theorized to capture attention-driven shifts. They also reanalyzed data from previous cross-modal cuing experiments involving visual and auditory cues. The results demonstrated that the link between microsaccades and attention is strong but conditional. In saccadic response conditions, microsaccades aligned with the direction of spatial attention in at least 75% of cases (approaching 90% under probability matching assumptions) when analyzing the first microsaccade occurring 200–400 ms after the cue. Conversely, in manual response conditions, the relationship dropped to chance levels for unselected microsaccades. Microsaccade rates showed an early suppression followed by an overshoot, with cue-congruent microsaccades dominating the peak period. Furthermore, analyses of cross-modal data revealed an above-chance link for visual cues but no systematic relation for auditory cues. The study also clarified that previous findings of "attentional mistakes" were likely artifacts of trial selection rather than genuine dissociations between attention and eye movements. The significance of this work lies in establishing precise boundaries for using microsaccades as a measure of covert attention. The authors conclude that microsaccades are a valid index of spatial attention only under specific constraints: they must be the first microsaccade in the sequence, occur within a narrow temporal window (200–400 ms post-cue), and be measured in tasks requiring saccadic responses. This refines the understanding of the oculomotor system's role in attention, suggesting that while the link is robust, it is not universal and is sensitive to task demands and timing.

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• eye movements scanning