Eyes Wide Shut: Gaze dynamics without vision,

Symposium 6 at the 20th European Conference on Eye Movement Research (ECEM) in Alicante, 21.8.2019.

  • Susana Martinez-Conde State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, USA
  • Bradley Buchsbaum Rotman Research Institute, Canada
  • Fatema Ghasia (Cleveland VA Medical Center, USA
  • Freek van Ede University of Oxford, UK
  • Stephen L. Macknik State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, USA
Keywords: microsaccades, imagination, visual fields deficit, neural prosthetics

Abstract

Video stream: https://vimeo.com/365522806

The human ability for visualization extends far beyond the physical items that surround us. We are able to dismiss the constant influx of photons hitting our retinas, and instead picture the layout of our kindergarten classroom, envision the gently swaying palm trees of our dream vacation, or foresee the face of a yet-to-be-born child. As we inspect imaginary objects and people with our mind’s eye, our corporeal eyeballs latch onto the fantasy. Research has found that our eyes can move as if seeing, even when there is nothing to look at. Thus, gaze explorations in the absence of actual vision have been reported in many contexts, including in visualization and memory tasks, and perhaps even during REM sleep. This symposium will present the manifold aspects of gaze dynamics in conditions when the visual input is impoverished or altogether absent. Presentations will address the characteristics of large and small eye movements during imagined and remembered scenes, the impact of visual field deficits on oculomotor control, and the role of eye movements in the future development of neural prosthetics for the blind.

Published
2019-11-26
How to Cite
Martinez-Conde, S., Buchsbaum, B., Ghasia, F., van Ede, F., & Macknik, S. L. (2019). Eyes Wide Shut: Gaze dynamics without vision,: Symposium 6 at the 20th European Conference on Eye Movement Research (ECEM) in Alicante, 21.8.2019. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 12(7). https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.12.7.12

Most read articles by the same author(s)