HMNS Seminar Series

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 16 November 2018

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

127

UQ Location:

Human Performance Laboratories (St Lucia)

URL:

https://hmns.uq.edu.au/

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Transient, broad field, visual input strongly modulates reactive saccade latency - presented by Assoc. Prof. Timothy Carroll.

In humans, the superior colliculus (SC) is a key midbrain-processing node for the control of saccadic gaze shifts and, it is thought, some limb movements as well. In particular, the SC plays a central role in the generation of “express saccades”, which occur when the sudden appearance of a visual target triggers very short latency gaze shifts (<110ms). Here we sought a method to experimentally manipulate the state of the superior colliculus, and thereby modulate the latency of saccadic initiation to transient visual targets. We presented black and white checkerboard stimuli over a large proportion of the visual field saccade, and found that such stimuli influence the dynamics but not the metrics of saccades. The general approach might be beneficial in treatment for people with disorders of movement initiation.