doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp6204
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Did you know that our eyes are always moving, but we still see the world in a stable way” Every second, our eyes capture millions of pieces of information and send them to the brain, which works hard to process everything.
Thanks to this, we don’t perceive the world as shaking or out of focus, even though our eyes are constantly moving.
How the Brain Compensates for Eye Movements
Scientists believe that this stable perception is possible because of a special mechanism in our visual system.
This mechanism has been studied for a long time, but it still holds many mysteries.
A group of researchers, led by psychologist Professor Markus Lappe from the University of Münster, investigated how we manage to see the world in a stable way even when our eyes receive such dynamic visual signals.
They focused on how we perceive the movement of objects that do not have a rigid shape, such as fire or water, something that has hardly been explored before.
What Did They Discover”
The researchers found that, contrary to what was previously thought, we are not able to make smooth eye movements (called “pursuit”) for every type of movement we see.
They also showed, for the first time, that the mechanism that compensates for rapid eye movements (saccades) fails when we look at certain movements of non-rigid objects, causing visual stability to be lost.
The results were published in the journal *Science Advances*.
Rapid Movements vs.
Smooth Movements
Scientists have long assumed that rapid and smooth eye movements respond similarly to the motion signals we receive.
But the study showed that this is not true.
“Our results reveal that these two systems are separate.
They work in different ways and follow different pathways in the brain,” explains Markus Lappe.
To prove this, the researchers used a new motion illusion that confuses our perception of space.
How Did the Experiment Go”
In the experiment, 15 volunteers had to follow a simulated vortex (a whirlpool) with their eyes as it moved across a field of dots.
Normally, this is easy, and the eyes follow the object without any problem, moving smoothly at the same speed.
But with this particular vortex, the participants” eyes failed to follow, and they remained motionless for a while.
Every 400 milliseconds, the eyes made a quick movement to try to bring the vortex back to the center of their vision.
When this happened, the vortex appeared to jump forward, as if the motion compensation had failed.
Measuring Eye Movements
To measure everything accurately, the team used super-fast infrared cameras, called “eye trackers.” These cameras shine infrared light into the eyes, capture the reflections off the cornea and pupil, and can see exactly how and where the eyes move.
Significance of the Discovery
These findings are very useful for research into the brain and how our mind works.
“For the first time, we have shown a type of movement in which the compensation mechanism fails, which means we can test old models and create new ones,” said Markus Lappe.
In the future, this research could even help in the diagnosis and study of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer”s.
Published in 11/14/2024 23h31
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