Tiny Eye Movements Are Under a Surprising Degree of Cognitive Control - Neuroscience News

Summary: Ocular drift, or tiny eye movements that seem random can be influenced by prior knowledge of an expected visual target, researchers report. A very subtle and seemingly random type of eye movement called ocular drift can be influenced by prior knowledge of the expected visual target, suggesting a surprising level of cognitive control over the eyes, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine neuroscientists. The discovery, described Apr. 3 in Current Biology, adds to the scientific understanding of how vision--far from being a mere absorption of incoming signals from the retina--is controlled and directed by cognitive processes. "These eye movements are so tiny that we're not even conscious of them, and yet our brains somehow can use the knowledge of the visual task to control them," says study lead author Dr. Yen-Chu Lin, who carried out the work as a Fred Plum Fellow in Systems Neurology and Neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Lin works in the laboratory of study senior author Dr. Jonathan Victor, the Fred Plum Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study involved a close collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Michele Rucci, professor of brain and cognitive sciences and neuroscience at the University of Rochester.