Eye movement training is most effective when it involves a task-relevant sensorimotor decision

Abstract

Eye and hand movements are closely linked when performing everyday actions. We conducted a perceptual-motor training study to investigate mutually beneficial effects of eye and hand movements, asking whether training in one modality benefits performance in the other. Observers had to predict the future trajectory of a briefly presented moving object, and intercept it at its assumed location as accurately as possible with their finger. Eye and hand movements were recorded simultaneously. Different training protocols either included eye movements or a combination of eye and hand movements with or without external performance feedback. Eye movement training did not transfer across modalities: Irrespective of feedback, finger interception accuracy and precision improved after training that involved the hand, but not after isolated eye movement training. Conversely, eye movements benefited from hand movement training or when external performance feedback was given, thus improving only when an active interceptive task component was involved. These findings indicate only limited transfer across modalities. However, they reveal the importance of creating a training task with an active sensorimotor decision to improve the accuracy and precision of eye and hand movements.

Eye movements as a readout of sensorimotor decision processes

“…The concurrence of eye movement separation time and hand movement onset is further evidence for common neural processing of action goals (e.g., Andersen and Cui, 2009; Crawford et al, 2004; Hwang et al, 2014). Moreover, our findings are closely related to the observation that eye and hand movements are interdependent during movement planning (Leclercq et al, 2013) and execution (Danion and Flanagan, 2018; Fooken et al; 2016, 2018).…”

Eye movements as a readout of sensorimotor decision processes

“…The concurrence of eye movement separation time and hand movement onset is further evidence for common neural processing of action goals (e.g., Andersen and Cui 2009;Crawford et al 2004;Hwang et al 2014). Moreover, our findings are closely related to the observation that eye and hand movements are interdependent during movement planning (Leclercq et al 2013) and execution (Chen et al 2016;Danion and Flanagan 2018;Fooken et al 2016Fooken et al , 2018Maiello et al 2018). The interdependence and timing of eye and goal-directed hand movement preparation and execution could further be studied by combining eye tracking with measurements of the electromyographic activity of arm muscles during reach or point movements (e.g., Gribble et al 2002).…”

Prediction in goal-directed action

“…Interestingly, when participants were asked to observe two players throwing a ball back and forth instead of actively throwing and catching it themselves, predictive saccades were less accurate, and fewer periods of smooth pursuit were observed between bounce and catch (Hayhoe, Mennie, Sullivan, & Gorgos, 2005). Similarly, laboratory studies have shown that actively engaging in tasks such as manual tracking, catching, or pointing can enhance simultaneous pursuit eye movements (Chen, Valsecchi, & Gegenfurtner, 2016;Danion & Flanagan, 2018;Fooken, Lalonde, Mann, & Spering, 2018). Conversely, pursuing a ball seems to provide information about the ball's motion, which is important for predicting its trajectory (Bennett, Baures, Hecht, & Benguigui, 2010;Spering, Schütz, Braun, & Gegenfurtner, 2011) and for controlling the timing and accuracy of interceptive movements directed at the ball (Brenner & Smeets, 2011;de la Malla et al, 2016;de la Malla et al, 2017;Fooken, Yeo, Pai, & Spering, 2016;Leclercq, Blohm, & Lefèvre, 2013).…”