Eye and head movements are complementary in visual selection

In the natural environment, visual selection is accomplished by a system of nested effectors, moving the head and body within space and the eyes within the visual field. However, it is not yet known if the principles of selection for these different effectors are the same or different. We used a novel gaze-contingent display in which an asymmetric window of visibility (a horizontal or vertical slot) was yoked to either head or eye position. Participants showed highly systematic changes in behaviour, revealing clear differences in the principles underlying selection by eye and head. Eye movements were more likely to move in the direction of visible information—horizontally when viewing with a horizontal slot, and vertically with a vertical slot. Head movements showed the opposite and complementary pattern, moving to reveal new information (e.g. vertically with a horizontal slot and vice versa). These results are consistent with a nested system in which the head favours exploration of unk...

在自然环境中，视觉选择由一套嵌套效应器系统完成，该系统可使头部与躯体在空间中移动，同时使眼球在视野内运动。然而，目前尚不清楚这些不同效应器所遵循的选择原则是否一致。本研究采用了一种新型注视依存显示（gaze-contingent display）系统，其中非对称可见窗口（水平或垂直狭缝）可与头部或眼球的位置联动。实验参与者的行为表现出高度系统化的变化，清晰揭示了眼球与头部各自遵循的选择原则存在显著差异：眼球运动更倾向于朝向可见信息的方向移动——当使用水平狭缝进行观察时，眼球沿水平方向运动，使用垂直狭缝时则沿垂直方向运动。头部运动则呈现出相反且互补的模式，其运动旨在获取新的信息，例如使用水平狭缝时头部沿垂直方向移动，反之亦然。上述结果与嵌套效应器系统的理论框架一致，该系统中头部更倾向于探索未知（unk...）