The target velocity integration function for saccades

Abstract

Interacting with a dynamic environment calls for close coordination between the timing and direction of motor behaviors. Accurate motor behavior requires the system to predict where the target for action will be, both when action planning is complete and when the action is executed. In the current study, we investigate the time course of velocity information accrual in the period leading up to a saccade toward a moving object. In two experiments, observers were asked to generate saccades to one of two moving targets. Experiment 1 looks at the accuracy of saccades to targets that have trial-by-trial variations in velocity. We show that the pattern of errors in saccade landing position is best explained by proposing that trial-by-trial target velocity is taken into account in saccade planning. In Experiment 2, target velocity stepped up or down after a variable interval after the movement cue. The extent to which the movement endpoint reflects pre- or post-step velocity can be used to identify the temporal velocity integration window; we show that the system takes a temporally blurred snapshot of target velocity centered ∼200 ms before saccade onset. This estimate is used to generate a dynamically updated prediction of the target's likely future location.