Data from: Temporal structure of human gaze dynamics is invariant during free viewing

We investigate the dynamic structure of human gaze and present an experimental study of the frequency components of the change in gaze position over time during free viewing of computer-generated fractal images. We show that changes in gaze position are scale-invariant in time with statistical properties that are characteristic of a random walk process. We quantify and track changes in the temporal structure using a well-defined scaling parameter called the Hurst exponent, H. We find H is robust regardless of the spatial complexity generated by the fractal images. In addition, we find the Hurst exponent is invariant across all participants, including those with distinct changes to higher order visual processes due to neural degeneration. The value we find for H of 0.57 shows that the gaze dynamics during free viewing of fractal images are consistent with a random walk process with persistent movements. Our research suggests the human visual system may have a common strategy that drives the dynamics of human gaze during exploration.本研究探究人类注视行为的动态结构，并开展实验研究：分析被试在自由观看计算机生成分形图像时，注视位置随时间变化的频域分量特征。研究表明，注视位置的变化在时间维度上具备尺度不变性，其统计特性符合随机游走过程的典型表现。我们采用定义明确的尺度参数——赫斯特指数（Hurst exponent, H）——对时间结构的变化进行量化与追踪。研究发现，无论分形图像所产生的空间复杂度如何变化，赫斯特指数均保持稳健。此外，所有被试的赫斯特指数均保持一致，其中包括因神经退行性病变而出现高阶视觉加工过程显著异常的参与者。我们测得赫斯特指数H为0.57，这表明在自由观看分形图像时，人类的注视动态符合带有持续运动特征的随机游走过程。本研究提示，人类视觉系统或许存在一套通用策略，主导探索过程中人类注视行为的动态变化。