Eye fixation-related potentials in free viewing identify encoding failures in change detection

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2011-06, Vol.56 (3), p.1598-1607
• Main Authors: Nikolaev, Andrey R., Nakatani, Chie, Plomp, Gijs, Jurica, Peter, van Leeuwen, Cees
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention; Attention - physiology; Bias; Change detection; Data Interpretation, Statistical; EEG; Evoked Potentials - physiology; Eye fixation-related potentials; Eye movements; Eye Movements - physiology; Eyelids - physiology; Failure; Female; Fixation, Ocular - physiology; Humans; Male; Photic Stimulation; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Saccades - physiology; Sensory perception; Visual task performance; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.03.021

We considered the hypothesis that spontaneous dissociation between the direction of attention and eye movement causes encoding failure in change detection. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing eye fixation-related potentials (EFRP) at the encoding stage of a change blindness task; when participants freely inspect a scene containing an unmarked target region, in which a change will occur in a subsequent presentation. We measured EFRP amplitude prior to the execution of a saccade, depending on its starting or landing position relative to the target region. For those landings inside the target region, we found a difference in EFRP between correct detection and failure. Overall, correspondence between EFRP amplitude and the size of the saccade predicted successful detection of change; lack of correspondence was followed by change blindness. By contrast, saccade sizes and fixation durations around the target region were unrelated to subsequent change detection. Since correspondence between EFRP and eye movement indicates that overt attention was given to the target region, we concluded that overt attention is needed for successful encoding and that dissociation between eye movement and attention leads to change blindness. [Display omitted] ► Eye movements in the encoding stage of a change detection task do not distinguish between correct change detection and detection failure. ► Eye fixation-related potentials (EFRP) in fixation locations around relevant regions predict change detection success or failure. ► EFRP corresponding to saccade size lead to correct detection, no correspondence leads to incorrect detection. ► EFRP reflect encoding at locations of the next fixation target. ► Encoding failures in change detection result from deviation between eye movement and attention.