Counterproductive effect of saccadic suppression during attention shifts.

During saccadic eye movements, the processing of visual information is transiently interrupted by a mechanism known as "saccadic suppression" [1] that is thought to ensure perceptual stability [2]. If, as proposed in the premotor theory of attention [3], covert shifts of attention rely on sub-threshold recruitment of oculomotor circuits, then saccadic suppression should also occur during covert shifts. In order to test this prediction, we designed two experiments in which participants had to orient towards a cued letter, with or without saccades.

Similar effect of cueing conditions on attentional and saccadic temporal dynamics.

Spatial attention permits to allocate more processing resources to a restricted portion of the visual space. The influential premotor theory states that the allocation of spatial attention relies on the same processes as those responsible for programming saccadic eye movements. Accordingly, several studies have already demonstrated a close spatial correspondence between attention and saccades.