Does gaze direction really trigger a reflexive shift of spatial attention?

Previous studies have found that the gaze direction of a centrally presented face facilitates response time (RT) to a lone peripheral target. The widely accepted interpretation of this finding is that gaze direction triggers a cortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention. In the present...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain and cognition 2005-02, Vol.57 (1), p.66-69
Main Authors: Friesen, Chris Kelland, Moore, Chris, Kingstone, Alan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Cues
Field Dependence-Independence
Fixation, Ocular - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Perception
Perceptual Masking - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Reaction Time - physiology
Space Perception - physiology
Vision
Visual Fields - physiology
Visual Perception
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Summary:Previous studies have found that the gaze direction of a centrally presented face facilitates response time (RT) to a lone peripheral target. The widely accepted interpretation of this finding is that gaze direction triggers a cortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention. In the present study we tested an alternative explanation, that a target appearing abruptly on its own in the visual field triggers a subcortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention, which is modulated by compatibility with gaze direction. Using central gaze cues, we compared RT to a single peripheral onset target with RT to a peripheral onset target accompanied by an equivalent distractor at the mirror opposite location. In both cases the facilitation effect was the same, demonstrating conclusively that the observed orienting is attributable to the reflexive effects of the gaze cue.
ISSN:0278-2626
1090-2147
DOI:10.1016/j.bandc.2004.08.025