Gaze Control Research Articles

Gaze control during interceptive actions with different spatiotemporal demands.

It is widely accepted that the sources of information used to guide interceptive actions depend on conflicting spatiotemporal task demands. However, there is a paucity of evidence that shows how information pick-up during interceptive actions is adapted to such conflicting constraints. The present study therefore examined the effects of systematic manipulations of spatiotemporal constraints on performance, timing and gaze in an in situ interceptive action. To this end, expert futsal goalkeepers faced penalty kicks taken from 10 m and 6 m. With the more lenient spatiotemporal constraints (i.e., kicks from 10 m), the goalkeepers saved more kicks, initiated their actions later, and looked longer toward ball relative to the penalty takers' body. Furthermore, analysis of gaze patterns showed that interindividual variations in information pick-up were related to the unfolding of the penalty taker's action, revealing a less variable, funnel-like gaze pattern toward the end of the action. These findings are interpreted to reflect that changes in spatiotemporal demands induce the differential use of information for the accurate control of interceptive actions. (PsycINFO Database Record

Gaze-contingent manipulation of the FVF demonstrates the importance of fixation duration for explaining search behavior.

Hulleman & Olivers' (H&O's) model introduces variation of the functional visual field (FVF) for explaining visual search behavior. Our research shows how the FVF can be studied using gaze-contingent displays and how FVF variation can be implemented in models of gaze control. Contrary to H&O, we believe that fixation duration is an important factor when modeling visual search behavior.

Quiet eye training improves accuracy in basketball field goal shooting.

University students (N = 240) were randomly assigned to a quiet eye training (QET) or technical training (TT) group, and their shooting accuracy (%) determined during a pre-, post-, and transfer test in basketball field shooting. Both groups first received lectures on visuomotor processing and the quiet eye (QE), followed by a laboratory in which participants in the QET group were taught how to adopt the QE characteristics of elite free-throw shooters, which stresses optimal gaze control and focus relative to a single target location, while the TT participants were taught elite biomechanics which stresses optimal control of the shooting stance, arms, and hands. Overall, the QET group's accuracy was significantly higher than the TT group, but differences were found due to skill level and defensive pressure. From pre to post, the accuracy of the QET novices increased significantly compared to the TT novices, but declined during transfer. Both the QET and TT intermediates had relatively high accuracy scores during the pre- and posttests, which then declined, as expected, during the transfer test against defensive pressure. However, during transfer the QET group's accuracy remained higher than the TT group and was surprisingly similar to that found in elite competition. It is recommended that novice and intermediate basketball players be taught how to adopt the QE of elite players, rather than learning only the technical/mechanical aspects of shooting. Theoretically, the study is placed within the context of top-down "cognitive control," as proposed by Cavanagh and Frank (2014), and QET studies which show that when learners are taught how to adopt the QE of elite performers, this appears to contribute to a more optimal organization of the neural networks underlying control of the task which, in turn, leads to improved shooting performance.

視線の知覚・制御を理解する(顔を見る,顔を思う,顔をつくる-顔知覚研究の行方-,2005年度 第2回フォーラム)

視線の知覚・制御を理解する(顔を見る,顔を思う,顔をつくる-顔知覚研究の行方-,2005年度 第2回フォーラム)

Role of neural integrators in oculomotor systems: asystematic narrative literature review.

To evaluate the role of neural integrators (NI) in the oculomotor system. A literature search was carried out using several electronic databases during the months of June 2014 to March 2015. The following keywords were used to generate focused results: 'neural integrators', 'gaze-holding', 'oculomotor integration', 'impaired gaze-holding', 'gaze evoked nystagmus' and 'gaze dysfunction'. Further materials were found through searching relevant articles within reference lists. Seventy-one articles were sourced for this review which analysed animal and human subjects and network models; 45 were studies of humans, 16 studies of primates, three studies of felines and one study from rats and network models. The remaining articles were literature reviews. The horizontal and vertical, including torsional, NI are located logically in the brainstem, nearby their appropriate target extraocular motoneuron nuclei for stable eye position in eccentric position. The nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH) and medial vestibular nuclei (MVN) are closely linked at the caudal pons and dorsal rostral medulla, integrating horizontal conjugate eye movement. The interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) integrates vertical and torsional eye movement at the upper midbrain. The integrator time constant is averaged to 25seconds in human horizontal and animal vertical NI to perform its function. Case reports revealed that dysfunction of horizontal NI also resulted in vertical ocular deviations, indicating some overlap of horizontal and vertical gaze control. Furthermore, pharmacological inactivation of NI exposed a population of inhibitory neurotransmitters that permits its mechanism of action; allowing for smooth conjugate movement. Neural integrators operate to integrate eye velocity and eye position information to provide signals to extraocular motoneurons to attain and maintain a new position. Therefore, NI allow image stabilization during horizontal and vertical eye movements at eccentric positions for comfortable single vision.

A gaze control of socially interactive robots in multiple-person interaction

SUMMARYThis paper proposes a computational model for selecting a suitable interlocutor of socially interactive robots in a situation interacting with multiple persons. To support this, a hybrid approach incorporating gaze control criteria and perceptual measurements for social cues is applied to the robot. For the perception part, representative non-verbal behaviors indicating human-interaction intent are designed based on the psychological analysis of human–human interaction, and these behavioral features are quantitatively measured by core perceptual components including visual, auditory, and spatial modalities. In addition, each aspect of recognition performance is improved through temporal confidence reasoning as a post-processing step. On the other hand, two factors of the physical space and conversational intimacy are tactically applied to the model calculation as a way of strengthening social gaze control effect of the robot. Interaction experiments with performance evaluation are given to verify that the proposed model is suitable to assess intended behaviors of individuals and perform gaze behavior about multiple persons. By showing a success rate of 93.3% in human decision-making criteria, it confirms a potential to establish socially acceptable gaze control in multiple-person interaction.

Gaze Control in One Versus One Defensive Situations in Soccer Players With Various Levels of Expertise.

Experienced and less experienced soccer players were compared in terms of their gaze behavior (number of fixations, fixation duration, number of fixation regions, and distribution of fixations across specific regions) during frontal 1 vs. 1 defensive situations. Twenty-four men (eight experienced soccer players, eight less experienced players and eight non-players) watched 20 video clips. Gaze behavior was registered with an Eye Tracking System. The video scenes were analyzed frame-by-frame. Significant main effect of the group (experience) was observed for the number of fixation regions. Experienced soccer players had a lower number of fixation regions than the non-soccer players. Moreover, the former group presented with significantly larger percentage of fixations in the ball/foot region. These findings suggest that experienced players may use a more efficient search strategy than novices, involving fixation on a lesser number of areas in specific locations.

Spatial frequency processing in the central and peripheral visual field during scene viewing

Visuospatial attention and gaze control depend on the interaction of foveal and peripheral processing. The foveal and peripheral regions of the visual field are differentially sensitive to parts of the spatial-frequency spectrum. In two experiments, we investigated how the selective attenuation of spatial frequencies in the central or the peripheral visual field affects eye-movement behavior during real-world scene viewing. Gaze-contingent low-pass or high-pass filters with varying filter levels (i.e., cutoff frequencies; Experiment 1) or filter sizes (Experiment 2) were applied. Compared to unfiltered control conditions, mean fixation durations increased most with central high-pass and peripheral low-pass filtering. Increasing filter size prolonged fixation durations with peripheral filtering, but not with central filtering. Increasing filter level prolonged fixation durations with low-pass filtering, but not with high-pass filtering. These effects indicate that fixation durations are not always longer under conditions of increased processing difficulty. Saccade amplitudes largely adapted to processing difficulty: amplitudes increased with central filtering and decreased with peripheral filtering; the effects strengthened with increasing filter size and filter level. In addition, we observed a trade-off between saccade timing and saccadic selection, since saccade amplitudes were modulated when fixation durations were unaffected by the experimental manipulations. We conclude that interactions of perception and gaze control are highly sensitive to experimental manipulations of input images as long as the residual information can still be accessed for gaze control.

Eye Movements Affect Postural Control in Young and Older Females.

Visual information is used for postural stabilization in humans. However, little is known about how eye movements prevalent in everyday life interact with the postural control system in older individuals. Therefore, the present study assessed the effects of stationary gaze fixations, smooth pursuits, and saccadic eye movements, with combinations of absent, fixed and oscillating large-field visual backgrounds to generate different forms of retinal flow, on postural control in healthy young and older females. Participants were presented with computer generated visual stimuli, whilst postural sway and gaze fixations were simultaneously assessed with a force platform and eye tracking equipment, respectively. The results showed that fixed backgrounds and stationary gaze fixations attenuated postural sway. In contrast, oscillating backgrounds and smooth pursuits increased postural sway. There were no differences regarding saccades. There were also no differences in postural sway or gaze errors between age groups in any visual condition. The stabilizing effect of the fixed visual stimuli show how retinal flow and extraocular factors guide postural adjustments. The destabilizing effect of oscillating visual backgrounds and smooth pursuits may be related to more challenging conditions for determining body shifts from retinal flow, and more complex extraocular signals, respectively. Because the older participants matched the young group's performance in all conditions, decreases of posture and gaze control during stance may not be a direct consequence of healthy aging. Further research examining extraocular and retinal mechanisms of balance control and the effects of eye movements, during locomotion, is needed to better inform fall prevention interventions.

Evolutionary Fuzzy Integral-Based Gaze Control With Preference of Human Gaze

Research on developing human-like gaze control has been carried out to enhance human-robot interaction. From the viewpoint of a large consistency of human gaze, conventional research had focused on predicting where humans usually pay attention to. However, gaze control is a cognitive process that can even produce different scanpaths from the same visual information. In this paper, an evolutionary fuzzy integral-based gaze control algorithm with preference is proposed. It produces various scanpaths according to the preference of human gaze. The proposed gaze control algorithm evaluates each pixel point with fuzzy measures and fuzzy integral, and produces a scanpath through repeated selections considering memory and bio-inspired processes. The produced scanpath is transformed into a fixation map and compared with a scanpath obtained from a human subject by the earth mover’s distance. Based on the comparison, quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm gradually develops preference of human gaze to produce a scanpath similar to the human scanpath. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by comparing a human scanpath with a scanpath produced from the algorithm using the developed preference. The applicability of the proposed algorithm is also demonstrated by applying the developed preference to gaze control for learning from demonstration.

Modeling the Task Control of Gaze

Modeling the Task Control of Gaze

Species-specific control of acoustic gaze by echolocating bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon and Pipistrellus abramus, during flight.

Based on the characteristics of the ultrasounds they produce, echolocating bats can be categorized into two main types: broadband FM (frequency modulated) and narrowband CF (constant frequency) echolocators. In this study, we recorded the echolocation behavior of a broadband FM (Pipistrellus abramus) and a narrowband CF echolocator species (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon) while they explored an unfamiliar space in a laboratory chamber. During flight, P. abramus smoothly shifted its acoustic gaze in relation to its flight direction, whereas R. ferrumequinum nippon frequently shifted its acoustic gaze from side to side. The distribution of the acoustic gazes of R. ferrumequinum nippon was twice as wide as that of P. abramus. Furthermore, R. ferrumequinum nippon produced double pulses twice as often as P. abramus. Because R. ferrumequinum nippon has a horizontal beam width (−6 dB off-axis angle) half as wide (±20.8 ± 6.0°) as that of P. abramus (±38.3 ± 6.0°), it appears to double the width of its acoustical field of view by shifting its acoustic gaze further off-axis and emitting direction-shifted double pulses. These results suggest that broadband FM and narrowband CF bats actively control their acoustic gazes in a species-specific manner based on the acoustic features of their echolocation signals.

A Neural Model of Coordinated Head and Eye Movement Control

Gaze shifts require the coordinated movement of both the eyes and the head in both animals and humanoid robots. To achieve this the brain and the robot control system needs to be able to perform complex non-linear sensory-motor transformations between many degrees of freedom and resolve the redundancy in such a system. In this article we propose a hierarchical neural network model for performing 3-D coordinated gaze shifts. The network is based on the PC/BC-DIM (Predictive Coding/Biased Competition with Divisive Input Modulation) basis function model. The proposed model consists of independent eyes and head controlled circuits with mutual interactions for the appropriate adjustment of coordination behaviour. Based on the initial eyes and head positions the network resolves redundancies involved in 3-D gaze shifts and produces accurate gaze control without any kinematic analysis or imposing any constraints. Furthermore the behaviour of the proposed model is consistent with coordinated eye and head movements observed in primates.

EP 38. Voxel-based morphometry reveals increased gray matter density in the uvula in physiological upbeat nystagmus

Aim Some videooculography (VOG) studies have reported a spontaneous upbeat nystagmus (UBN) in the absence of fixation in a number of healthy subjects ( Bisdorff et al., 2000 ). These oscillations of the vertical gaze system are thought to be under the influence of the gravitational force vector, termed vestibular nystagmus. The neural basis of this UBN and whether structural differences can be attributed to it, however, remain unclear. Aim of our combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and VOG approach within the context of a larger vestibular stimulation study was to investigate the anatomical substrate of this UBN in healthy subjects. Methods 44 right-handed healthy subjects (21 F; mean age 28 years) were examined in supine position by means of VOG (EyeSeeCam©) without fixation before and after bimastoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). Then structural and functional images were obtained in a clinical 3T scanner (Siemens Magnetom Verio, Erlangen, Germany) with a 32-channel head coil. The protocol included an isotropic (1 × 1 × 1 m) MPRAGE sequence and a resting-state session with 165 volumes, each consisting of 36 slices of a T2 ∗ -weighted ascending EPI sequence (TR 2.31s). Data analysis was performed using the VBM12 toolbox within SPM 12 (Version 6407 Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, London, UK) in Matlab 2015b (The MathWorks, Natick, Massachusetts, USA) after standard preprocessing. T-contrasts were calculated with respect to the rest condition and were considered significant at p Results In the VOG experiment, a spontaneous UBN occurred in 20 of 44 subjects (9 F) with a mean slow phase velocity (SPV) of 2,3°/s (SD = 1.1). After GVS, SPV decreased significantly by 52% (mean reduction of SPV = 1.06 °/s, SD = 1.0; paired t(19) = 0.03, p Conclusion Individual structural differences in the uvula could account for the physiological UBN in the absence of fixation in supine position. The uvula contributes to the processing of otolith information and responds both to translation and changes in orientation relative to gravity ( Angelaki et al., 2004 ). The tonsil on the other hand seems to be crucial for gaze-holding. Our results point to the importance of a balanced interplay of uvula and tonsil in vertical gaze control. The combination of a minimized influence of gravity on vertical eye movements in supine position and the absence of visual information might demask central oscillatory signals within the vertical gaze system. High frequency dampening via GVS might in return result in an artificial external stabilization of this system, reflected in a decrease of UBN. Supported by the German Foundation for Neurology (DSN) and the German Research Foundation.

Out of the corner of the driver's eye: Peripheral processing of hazards in static traffic scenes.

Effective gaze control in traffic, based on peripheral visual information, is important to avoid hazards. Whereas previous hazard perception research mainly focused on skill-component development (e.g., orientation and hazard processing), little is known about the role and dynamics of peripheral vision in hazard perception. We analyzed eye movement data from a study in which participants scanned static traffic scenes including medium-level versus dangerous hazards and focused on characteristics of fixations prior to entering the hazard region. We found that initial saccade amplitudes into the hazard region were substantially longer for dangerous (vs. medium-level) hazards, irrespective of participants' driving expertise. An analysis of the temporal dynamics of this hazard-level dependent saccade targeting distance effect revealed that peripheral hazard-level processing occurred around 200-400 ms during the course of the fixation prior to entering the hazard region. An additional psychophysical hazard detection experiment, in which hazard eccentricity was manipulated, revealed better detection for dangerous (vs. medium-level) hazards in both central and peripheral vision. Furthermore, we observed a significant perceptual decline from center to periphery for medium (but not for highly) dangerous hazards. Overall, the results suggest that hazard processing is remarkably effective in peripheral vision and utilized to guide the eyes toward potential hazards.

FlashType<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\text{TM}}$</tex-math> </inline-formula>: A Context-Aware c-VEP-Based BCI Typing Interface Using EEG Signals

Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) offer individuals with disabilities an alternative channel of communication and control, hence they have been receiving increasing interest. BCIs can also be useful for healthy individuals in situations limiting their movement or where other computer interaction modalities need to be supplemented. Event-related and steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are the top two brain signal types used in developing BCIs that allow the user to make a choice from a discrete set of options, including the selection of commands from a menu for a robot or computer to perform, as well as typing letters, symbols, or icons for communication. Popular BCI speller paradigms, such as the P300 Matrix Speller, RSVP Keyboard $^{\rm TM}$ or SSVEP spellers in which the letters on the keyboard display flicker, are sensitive to the font, size and presentation speed. In addition, sensitivity to eye gaze control plays a significant role in usability of most of these keyboards. We present a code-VEP based BCI, utilized in a language model assisted keyboard application. Utilizing a cursor based selection method, stimuli and targets are separated. FlashType $^{\rm TM}$ separates visual stimulation from alphabet presentation to achieve performance invariance under presentation variations. Therefore, FlashType $^{\rm TM}$ can be used for all languages, including the ones containing symbols and icons. FlashType $^{\rm TM}$ , contains a Static Keyboard , a row of Suggested Characters and a row of Predicted Words . FlashType $^{\rm TM}$ , by default, uses only one EEG electrode and four stimuli. The system can operate using only one stimulus at a lower selection rate, useful for individuals with limited or no gaze control. This feature is to be explored in future. Replacing letters with text or icons representing commands would allow controlling a computer or robot. In this study, FlashType $^{\rm TM}$ has been evaluated by three individuals performing 10 Mastery tasks. In depth experimentation, such as assessing the system with potential end users writing long passages of text, will be done in future.

Dipteran Halteres: Perspectives on Function and Integration for a Unique Sensory Organ.

The halteres of dipteran insects (true flies) are essential mechanosensory organs for flight. These are modified hindwings with several arrays of sensory cells at their base, and they are one of the characteristic features of flies. Mechanosensory information from the halteres is sent with low latency to wing-steering and head movement motoneurons, allowing direct control of body position and gaze. Analyses of the structure and dynamics of halteres indicate that they experience very small aerodynamic forces but significant inertial forces, including Coriolis forces associated with body rotations. The sensory cells at the base of the haltere detect these forces and allow the fly to correct for perturbations during flight, but new evidence suggests that this may not be their only role. This review will examine our current understanding of how these organs move, encode forces, and transmit information about these forces to the nervous system to guide behavior.

Design Principles of a High-Speed Omni-Scannable Gaze Controller

We propose design principles of a high-speed omni-scannable gaze controller that is advantageous over previously proposed omni-scannable controllers in terms of response time. This is achieved by overcoming the narrow scanning range of the high-speed Saccade Mirror, a gaze controller that employs single-axis rotating mirrors, while maintaining its short response time. It is first shown that in order to achieve an omni-scan with single-axis rotating mirrors, the gaze controller must follow certain conditions. We then give design principles, and determine the positions and shapes through an optimization under evaluation functions and constraints. The response time is estimated by the inertia of the mirrors, and is shown to be superior to conventional commercial omni-scannable gaze controllers.

Facing competition: Neural mechanisms underlying parallel programming of antisaccades and prosaccades

The antisaccade task is a prominent tool to investigate the response inhibition component of cognitive control. Recent theoretical accounts explain performance in terms of parallel programming of exogenous and endogenous saccades, linked to the horse race metaphor. Previous studies have tested the hypothesis of competing saccade signals at the behavioral level by selectively slowing the programming of endogenous or exogenous processes e.g. by manipulating the probability of antisaccades in an experimental block. To gain a better understanding of inhibitory control processes in parallel saccade programming, we analyzed task-related eye movements and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses obtained using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3T from 16 healthy participants in a mixed antisaccade and prosaccade task. The frequency of antisaccade trials was manipulated across blocks of high (75%) and low (25%) antisaccade frequency. In blocks with high antisaccade frequency, antisaccade latencies were shorter and error rates lower whilst prosaccade latencies were longer and error rates were higher. At the level of BOLD, activations in the task-related saccade network (left inferior parietal lobe, right inferior parietal sulcus, left precentral gyrus reaching into left middle frontal gyrus and inferior frontal junction) and deactivations in components of the default mode network (bilateral temporal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) compensated increased cognitive control demands. These findings illustrate context dependent mechanisms underlying the coordination of competing decision signals in volitional gaze control.

Effectiveness of allied health therapy in the symptomatic management of progressive supranuclear palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an adult onset neurodegenerative condition associated with mobility, balance, speech, swallowing, vision and cognitive changes. The condition is diagnosed using the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Society of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (SPSP) criteria. Therapeutic interventions for PSP are important, and a healthcare team should include a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist. Mobility, speech and swallowing problems are commonly experienced, and aspiration pneumonia is the leading cause of death. A preliminary search of the literature has indicated that beyond small case series, there is very little evidence to guide specific allied health therapies in PSP. Many strategies for optimizing independence and function for PSP predominately rely on data extrapolated from the study of Parkinson's disease. The objective of this review was to examine the effectiveness of physical, occupational and speech therapy interventions in the symptomatic management of PSP. This review included participants with PSP as per the NINDS and the SPSP criteria, aged over 40 years of age from all community and clinical settings. This review included studies evaluating any allied health therapy that addressed mobility, vision, swallowing, communication or cognitive/neuropsychiatric difficulties experienced by patients with PSP. Studies examining interventions within the current scope of practice, and emerging interventions (non-invasive brain stimulation therapy) were eligible for inclusion. The effectiveness of interventions of interest was compared with usual care and/or baseline measurements. Outcomes of interest included the degree of change, or no change, in the symptoms experienced by patients with PSP relevant to allied health. These included difficulties with mobility, vision, swallowing, communication and cognition. All types of quantitative study designs published in English from the time of development of the NINDS and the SPSP criteria in 1996-2014 were considered for inclusion. A broad range of synonyms for PSP and a three-step search strategy was utilized to identify possible published and unpublished studies from 11 different databases. An initial limited search via MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, Health Informit, PsycINFO, PEDRO, OTSeeker and SpeechBite was undertaken followed by analysis of the text words contained in the title and abstract, and of the index terms used to describe the article. A second search using all identified keywords and index terms was then undertaken across all included databases. Third, hand-searching was conducted and the reference list of all identified reports and articles was searched for additional studies. Critical appraisal was conducted by two independent reviewers using standardized instruments. Quantitative data were extracted from articles included in the review using standardized data extraction tools. As the quantitative articles examined different interventions, pooling of data was not appropriate. Instead, the findings were presented in narrative summary and tabular form. Following methodological appraisal, six studies were included in the review. Aside from one small quasi-randomized control study, most studies were small case series and one was a case report. Five of the six studies examined the effectiveness of a range of different physiotherapy rehabilitation programs targeting gait, balance and physical capability, with one study also targeting gaze control. The sixth study examined non-invasive brain stimulation in improving gait and midline symptoms in PSP. No studies examined the effectiveness of occupational therapy or speech therapy interventions in PSP. Research into the effectiveness of allied health therapeutic interventions for PSP symptoms is in its infancy. This review found preliminary evidence to support the use of various physiotherapy rehabilitation programs to improve balance, gait and gaze control in people affected by PSP. Further research is urgently required to identify effective interventions to manage mobility, vision, swallowing, communication and cognitive/neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with this devastating condition.