@article{SinnEngbert2011,
  author    = {Sinn, Petra and Engbert, Ralf},
  title     = {Saccadic facilitation by modulation of microsaccades in natural backgrounds},
  series = {Attention, perception, \& psychophysics : AP\&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.},
  volume    = {73},
  journal   = {Attention, perception, \& psychophysics : AP\&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {1943-3921},
  doi       = {10.3758/s13414-011-0107-9},
  pages     = {1029 -- 1033},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Saccades move objects of interest into the center of the visual field for high-acuity visual analysis. White, Stritzke, and Gegenfurtner (Current Biology, 18, 124-128, 2008) have shown that saccadic latencies in the context of a structured background are much shorter than those with an unstructured background at equal levels of visibility. This effect has been explained by possible preactivation of the saccadic circuitry whenever a structured background acts as a mask for potential saccade targets. Here, we show that background textures modulate rates of microsaccades during visual fixation. First, after a display change, structured backgrounds induce a stronger decrease of microsaccade rates than do uniform backgrounds. Second, we demonstrate that the occurrence of a microsaccade in a critical time window can delay a subsequent saccadic response. Taken together, our findings suggest that microsaccades contribute to the saccadic facilitation effect, due to a modulation of microsaccade rates by properties of the background.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{SinnEngbert2011,
  author    = {Sinn, Petra and Engbert, Ralf},
  title     = {Saccadic facilitation by modulation of microsaccades in natural backgrounds},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {595},
  issn      = {1866-8364},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-43181},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-431817},
  pages     = {7},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Saccades move objects of interest into the center of the visual field for high-acuity visual analysis. White, Stritzke, and Gegenfurtner (Current Biology, 18, 124-128, 2008) have shown that saccadic latencies in the context of a structured background are much shorter than those with an unstructured background at equal levels of visibility. This effect has been explained by possible preactivation of the saccadic circuitry whenever a structured background acts as a mask for potential saccade targets. Here, we show that background textures modulate rates of microsaccades during visual fixation. First, after a display change, structured backgrounds induce a stronger decrease of microsaccade rates than do uniform backgrounds. Second, we demonstrate that the occurrence of a microsaccade in a critical time window can delay a subsequent saccadic response. Taken together, our findings suggest that microsaccades contribute to the saccadic facilitation effect, due to a modulation of microsaccade rates by properties of the background.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{EngbertMergenthalerSinnetal.2011,
  author    = {Engbert, Ralf and Mergenthaler, Konstantin and Sinn, Petra and Pikovskij, Arkadij},
  title     = {An integrated model of fixational eye movements and microsaccades},
  series = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  volume    = {108},
  journal   = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  number    = {39},
  publisher = {National Acad. of Sciences},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0027-8424},
  doi       = {10.1073/pnas.1102730108},
  pages     = {E765 -- E770},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {When we fixate a stationary target, our eyes generate miniature (or fixational) eye movements involuntarily. These fixational eye movements are classified as slow components (physiological drift, tremor) and microsaccades, which represent rapid, small-amplitude movements. Here we propose an integrated mathematical model for the generation of slow fixational eye movements and microsaccades. The model is based on the concept of self-avoiding random walks in a potential, a process driven by a self-generated activation field. The self-avoiding walk generates persistent movements on a short timescale, whereas, on a longer timescale, the potential produces antipersistent motions that keep the eye close to an intended fixation position. We introduce microsaccades as fast movements triggered by critical activation values. As a consequence, both slow movements and microsaccades follow the same law of motion; i.e., movements are driven by the self-generated activation field. Thus, the model contributes a unified explanation of why it has been a long-standing problem to separate slow movements and microsaccades with respect to their motion-generating principles. We conclude that the concept of a self-avoiding random walk captures fundamental properties of fixational eye movements and provides a coherent theoretical framework for two physiologically distinct movement types.},
  language  = {en}
}