Dynamic saccade context triggers more stable object-location binding.

Abstract

Our visual systems rapidly perceive and integrate information about object identities and locations. There is long-standing debate about if and how we achieve world-centered (spatiotopic) object representations across eye movements, with many studies reporting persistent retinotopic (eye-centered) effects even for higher level object-location binding. But these studies are generally conducted in fairly static experimental contexts. Might spatiotopic object-location binding only emerge in more dynamic saccade contexts? In the present study, we investigated this using the spatial congruency bias paradigm in healthy adults. In the static (single-saccade) context, we found purely retinotopic binding, as before. However, robust spatiotopic binding emerged in the dynamic saccade context (multiple frequent saccades and saccades during stimulus presentation). We further isolated specific factors that modulate retinotopic and spatiotopic binding. Our results provide strong evidence that dynamic saccade context can trigger more stable object-location binding in ecologically relevant spatiotopic coordinates, perhaps via a more flexible brain state that accommodates improved visual stability in the dynamic world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).