Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics

Humans have the unique ability to discern spatial and temporal regularities in their surroundings. However, the effect of learning these regularities on eye movement characteristics has not been studied enough. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the frequency of occurrence and the p...

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Main Authors: Bilyana Genova, Nadejda Bocheva, Ivan Hristov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/21/10055
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author Bilyana Genova
Nadejda Bocheva
Ivan Hristov
author_facet Bilyana Genova
Nadejda Bocheva
Ivan Hristov
author_sort Bilyana Genova
collection DOAJ
description Humans have the unique ability to discern spatial and temporal regularities in their surroundings. However, the effect of learning these regularities on eye movement characteristics has not been studied enough. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the frequency of occurrence and the presence of common chunks in visual images on eye movement characteristics like the fixation duration, saccade amplitude and number, and gaze number across sequential experimental epochs. The participants had to discriminate the patterns presented in pairs as the same or different. The order of pairs was repeated six times. Our results show an increase in fixation duration and a decrease in saccade amplitude in the sequential epochs, suggesting a transition from ambient to focal information processing as participants acquire knowledge. This transition indicates deeper cognitive engagement and extended analysis of the stimulus information. Interestingly, contrary to our expectations, the saccade number increased, and the gaze number decreased. These unexpected results might imply a reduction in the memory load and a narrowing of attentional focus when the relevant stimulus characteristics are already determined.
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spelling doaj-art-2f2537b7127d43e2b2d918abbd3f0b142025-08-20T02:14:22ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-11-0114211005510.3390/app142110055Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement CharacteristicsBilyana Genova0Nadejda Bocheva1Ivan Hristov2Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaInstitute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaInstitute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaHumans have the unique ability to discern spatial and temporal regularities in their surroundings. However, the effect of learning these regularities on eye movement characteristics has not been studied enough. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the frequency of occurrence and the presence of common chunks in visual images on eye movement characteristics like the fixation duration, saccade amplitude and number, and gaze number across sequential experimental epochs. The participants had to discriminate the patterns presented in pairs as the same or different. The order of pairs was repeated six times. Our results show an increase in fixation duration and a decrease in saccade amplitude in the sequential epochs, suggesting a transition from ambient to focal information processing as participants acquire knowledge. This transition indicates deeper cognitive engagement and extended analysis of the stimulus information. Interestingly, contrary to our expectations, the saccade number increased, and the gaze number decreased. These unexpected results might imply a reduction in the memory load and a narrowing of attentional focus when the relevant stimulus characteristics are already determined.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/21/10055eye movementsfixation durationsaccade amplitudesaccade numbergaze numberlearning
spellingShingle Bilyana Genova
Nadejda Bocheva
Ivan Hristov
Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
Applied Sciences
eye movements
fixation duration
saccade amplitude
saccade number
gaze number
learning
title Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
title_full Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
title_fullStr Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
title_short Effect of Stimulus Regularities on Eye Movement Characteristics
title_sort effect of stimulus regularities on eye movement characteristics
topic eye movements
fixation duration
saccade amplitude
saccade number
gaze number
learning
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/21/10055
work_keys_str_mv AT bilyanagenova effectofstimulusregularitiesoneyemovementcharacteristics
AT nadejdabocheva effectofstimulusregularitiesoneyemovementcharacteristics
AT ivanhristov effectofstimulusregularitiesoneyemovementcharacteristics