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No “When” without “Where”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1999

Christian Quaia
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4435 cq@lsr.nei.nih.govloptican@nih.gov
Lance M. Optican
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4435 cq@lsr.nei.nih.govloptican@nih.gov

Abstract

Deciding where to look is a very complicated process, but deciding when to look is probably much simpler. Once the brain is certain of where it wants to look, the saccade-generating pathway may simply start autonomously. Higher cognitive areas of the brain can only override this automatic start by preventing all saccades. Hence, the brain has no ability to say when to go; it can only say “go there” or “stay here.”

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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