Does the radial bias affect ultra rapid saccades towards faces in the periphery?
(2025) GDR Vision Forum 2025 — Location: Louvain-la-Neuve (30.January.2025)
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- Authors
Roux-Sibilon, Alexia 
- Abstract
- Saccadic choice studies showed that humans initiate the fastest saccades towards faces compared to other visual categories. These studies typically present images peripherally, along the horizontal meridian (HM). However, face-specialized mechanisms engage most strongly along the HM due to the radial bias facilitating access to horizontal face information, known to optimally drive (foveal) face processing. We hypothesized that the HM set-up of past studies may have privileged access to the horizontal structure of the human face, and therefore (partly) account for the saccadic advantage for faces reported so far. If any, the influence of meridian orientation of the saccadic face advantage should be predicted at the individual level by the strength of horizontal tuning for face processing and of the radial bias. Fifty participants completed three tasks, with the primary task being a saccadic choice task where stimuli were presented at 15° eccentricity along the horizontal and vertical meridians (VM). In addition, participants performed a foveal face identity recognition task to assess the horizontal tuning of face-specific processing and a peripheral contrast detection task to evaluate radial bias. Overall, saccades were faster and more accurate towards faces than vehicles. Notably, saccades towards faces were relatively unaffected by the vertical meridian setup, suggesting the robustness of face-specialized peripheral detection. However, individual saccadic behavior was predicted by the radial bias and horizontal tuning of face processing, indicating that peripheral radial bias and foveal horizontal tuning separately contribute to the ultra-fast saccades towards faces.
- Affiliations
Citations
Grandjean, M. (2025). Does the radial bias affect ultra rapid saccades towards faces in the periphery? GDR Vision Forum 2025, Louvain-la-Neuve.