Independent Allocation of Attention to Eye and Hand Targets in Coordinated Eye-Hand Movements

When reaching for objects, people frequently look where they reach. This raises the question of whether the targets for the eye and hand in concurrent eye and hand movements are selected by a unitary attentional system or by independent mechanisms. We used the deployment of visual attention as an index of the selection of movement targets and asked observers to reach and look to either the same location or separate locations. Results show that during the preparation of coordinated movements, attention is allocated in parallel to the targets of a saccade and a reaching movement. Attentional allocations for the two movements interact synergistically when both are directed to a common goal. Delaying the eye movement delays the attentional shift to the saccade target while leaving attentional deployment to the reach target unaffected. Our findings demonstrate that attentional resources are allocated independently to the targets of eye and hand movements and suggest that the goals for these effectors are selected by separate attentional mechanisms.

[1]  H. Deubel,et al.  Attentional landscapes in reaching and grasping , 2010, Vision Research.

[2]  Martin Eimer,et al.  Manual response preparation disrupts spatial attention: An electrophysiological investigation of links between action and attention , 2010, Neuropsychologia.

[3]  Pascal Fries,et al.  Neuronal Synchronization in Human Posterior Parietal Cortex during Reach Planning , 2010, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[4]  M. Morgan,et al.  Oculomotor responses and visuospatial perceptual judgments compete for common limited resources. , 2009, Journal of vision.

[5]  Lawrence H Snyder,et al.  The Responses of Visual Neurons in the Frontal Eye Field Are Biased for Saccades , 2009, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[6]  Joo-Hyun Song,et al.  Eye-hand coordination during target selection in a pop-out visual search. , 2009, Journal of neurophysiology.

[7]  I. Toni,et al.  Spatial and effector processing in the human parietofrontal network for reaches and saccades. , 2009, Journal of neurophysiology.

[8]  Eileen Kowler,et al.  Attention during active visual tasks: Counting, pointing, or simply looking , 2009, Vision Research.

[9]  Rufin VanRullen,et al.  Attentional selection of noncontiguous locations: the spotlight is only transiently "split". , 2009, Journal of vision.

[10]  M. Corbetta,et al.  Sensory-motor mechanisms in human parietal cortex underlie arbitrary visual decisions , 2008, Nature Neuroscience.

[11]  D. Boussaoud,et al.  Hand position modulates saccadic activity in the frontal eye field , 2008, Behavioural Brain Research.

[12]  J. D. Connolly,et al.  Saccade preparation signals in the human frontal and parietal cortices. , 2008, Journal of neurophysiology.

[13]  Eric Castet,et al.  Spatiotemporal dynamics of visual attention during saccade preparation: Independence and coupling between attention and movement planning. , 2007, Journal of vision.

[14]  Aidan A. Thompson,et al.  The hand knows something that the eye does not: Reaching movements resist the Müller–Lyer illusion whether or not the target is foveated , 2007, Neuroscience Letters.

[15]  D. Heeger,et al.  Specificity of Human Cortical Areas for Reaches and Saccades , 2007, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[16]  Benoit Brisson,et al.  Electrophysiological evidence of central interference in the control of visuospatial attention , 2007, Psychonomic bulletin & review.

[17]  M. Goldberg,et al.  Saccades, salience and attention: the role of the lateral intraparietal area in visual behavior. , 2006, Progress in brain research.

[18]  A. Wing,et al.  Action modulates object-based selection , 2005, Vision Research.

[19]  Klaus-Peter Hoffmann,et al.  Target selection in eye–hand coordination: Do we reach to where we look or do we look to where we reach? , 2005, Experimental Brain Research.

[20]  M. Jeannerod,et al.  Optimal response of eye and hand motor systems in pointing at a visual target , 1979, Biological Cybernetics.

[21]  M. Jeannerod,et al.  Optimal response of eye and hand motor systems in pointing at a visual target , 1979, Biological Cybernetics.

[22]  Jos J. Adam,et al.  Interference between saccadic eye and goal-directed hand movements , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[23]  Katherine M. Armstrong,et al.  Visuomotor Origins of Covert Spatial Attention , 2003, Neuron.

[24]  H. Deubel,et al.  Delayed Saccades, but Not Delayed Manual Aiming Movements, Require Visual Attention Shifts , 2003, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[25]  L H Snyder,et al.  Nonspatial saccade-specific activation in area LIP of monkey parietal cortex. , 2003, Journal of neurophysiology.

[26]  J. Theeuwes,et al.  Parallel allocation of attention prior to the execution of saccade sequences. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[27]  Anthony R. Dickinson,et al.  Non-spatial, motor-specific activation in posterior parietal cortex , 2002, Nature Neuroscience.

[28]  R. Johansson,et al.  Eye–Hand Coordination in Object Manipulation , 2001, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[29]  M. Hayhoe,et al.  The coordination of eye, head, and hand movements in a natural task , 2001, Experimental Brain Research.

[30]  U. Sailer,et al.  Spatial and temporal aspects of eye-hand coordination across different tasks , 2000, Experimental Brain Research.

[31]  C. Koch,et al.  A saliency-based search mechanism for overt and covert shifts of visual attention , 2000, Vision Research.

[32]  H. Bekkering,et al.  Ocular gaze is anchored to the target of an ongoing pointing movement. , 2000, Journal of neurophysiology.

[33]  A P Batista,et al.  Reach plans in eye-centered coordinates. , 1999, Science.

[34]  M. Land,et al.  The Roles of Vision and Eye Movements in the Control of Activities of Daily Living , 1998, Perception.

[35]  H. Deubel,et al.  Selective Dorsal and Ventral Processing: Evidence for a Common Attentional Mechanism in Reaching and Perception , 1998 .

[36]  R. Andersen,et al.  Coding of intention in the posterior parietal cortex , 1997, Nature.

[37]  P. van Donkelaar,et al.  Eye-hand interactions during goal-directed pointing movements. , 1997, Neuroreport.

[38]  H. Deubel,et al.  Saccade target selection and object recognition: Evidence for a common attentional mechanism , 1996, Vision Research.

[39]  B. Dosher,et al.  The role of attention in the programming of saccades , 1995, Vision Research.

[40]  M. Moscovitch,et al.  Attention and Performance 15: Conscious and Nonconscious Information Processing , 1994 .

[41]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Space and selective attention , 1994 .