Guest Lecture of Dr. Stefan Van der Stigchel

Guest Lecture of Dr. Stefan Van der Stigchel

from Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands

Date: 12.01.2011

Topic:'Inhibition in the oculomotor system'

Abstract:In order to successfully complete a complex task in our dynamic visual environment, it is crucial to make eye movements to locations that are relevant for the task demands. For instance, while driving a car, it is essential to keep your eyes on the road and to fixate landmarks that might guide steering. However, this process also constitutes ignoring the parts of the visual scene that are distracting for completing the task. So, while driving, it is important not to fixate elements that might interfere with driving, like flashing billboards located along the route. How does the brain prevent eye movements to salient elements that interfere with the current task settings? Experimental evidence has shown that observers are not always able to prevent an eye movement to a distracting element. The ability to prevent the execution of erroneous eye movements is called ''oculomotor inhibition''. In this talk, I will discuss recent studies that have investigated inhibition in the oculomotor system. Most importantly, recent studies have revealed novel knowledge concerning the spatial tuning and temporal dynamics of target selection in the oculomotor system. I will introduce saccade trajectory deviations a measure that is not only suited to measure the amount of inhibition evoked by a distractor in normal vision but also residual visual processing in the blind field of patients with visual field defects.