Motion perception and smooth pursuit eye movements

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show that smooth pursuit eye movements [SP] are not simple responses to moving retinal images but highly cognitive ones. Two experiments are presented to support this notion. In both the experiments, subjects are instructed to eye-track imaginary targets which are moving in the opposite direction to the actual moving stimuli. The results show that SP can be elicited by perceived motion rather than retinal slip of the visual images. The effects of SP upon motion perception are also discussed.