Different fixational eye movements mediate the prevention and the reversal of visual fading

Fixational eye movements (microsaccades, drift and tremor) are thought to improve visibility during fixation by thwarting neural adaptation to unchanging stimuli, but how the different fixational eye movements influence this process is a matter of debate. Previous studies confounded the reversal of fading (where vision is restored after fading) with its prevention (where fading is blocked before it happens). We found that, whereas microsaccades are most important to reversing fading, both microsaccades and drift help to prevent it. Drift's contribution to preventing fading is potentially larger than that of microsaccades, but microsaccades prevent fading with higher efficacy than drift. Microsaccades prevent foveal and peripheral fading in an equivalent fashion, and microsaccadic efficacy does not depend on microsaccade size, number, or direction; further, faster drift may prevent fading better than slower drift. These combined findings help reconcile the long‐standing controversy concerning the roles of microsaccades and drift in visibility during fixation.