Abstract
Moving objects are often occluded behind larger, stationary objects, but we can easily predict when and where they reappear. Here, we show that the prediction of object reappearance is subject to adaptive learning. When monkeys generated predictive saccades to the location of target reappearance, systematic changes in the location or timing of target reappearance independently altered the endpoint or latency of the saccades. Furthermore, spatial adaptation of predictive saccades did not alter visually triggered reactive saccades, whereas adaptation of reactive saccades altered the metrics of predictive saccades. Our results suggest that the extrapolation of motion trajectory may be subject to spatial and temporal recalibration mechanisms located upstream from the site of reactive saccade adaptation. Repetitive exposure of visual error for saccades induces qualitatively different adaptation, which might be attributable to different regions in the cerebellum that regulate learning of trajectory prediction and saccades.
Highlights
Moving objects are often occluded behind larger, stationary objects, but we can predict when and where they reappear
Monkeys were trained to generate a predictive saccade for the location of target reappearance from behind a stationary occluder
When the target reappearance was systematically shifted in time, the latency of predictive saccades gradually changed while the saccade endpoints remained unchanged
Summary
Moving objects are often occluded behind larger, stationary objects, but we can predict when and where they reappear. Our results suggest that the extrapolation of motion trajectory may be subject to spatial and temporal recalibration mechanisms located upstream from the site of reactive saccade adaptation. Along with the object kinematics, several cognitive factors can alter the spatiotemporal estimate of object reappearance from behind an occluder[1,2,3,4,5] Consistent with these behavioral findings, an inference of object motion activates many brain regions including and beyond the visual cortices, such as the superior temporal cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex and the lateral cerebellum[6,7,8]. Using the inferred motion paradigm, a recent study demonstrated that subjects with cerebellar degeneration were able to accurately predict the timing of the target’s reappearance from occlusion but were unable to adapt temporal prediction when the target reappearance was systematically shifted in time[24]. Our data show that spatial and temporal adaptation can occur and takes place upstream of adaptation of visually triggered reactive saccades
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