Through the use of neuron recording, reversible inactivation of subsets of neuronal populations, and computer simulations, we have discovered a crucial component of the brain mechanism for generating microsaccades. These results provided the first neuronal substrate for understanding the links between microsaccades and visual attention that we and others have observed in humans starting ca. 2002. In more recent years, we have also begun investigating neural mechanisms for controlling slow ocular drifts.
One of our long-term goals is to understand the brain mechanisms subserving microsaccade generation as well as the mechanisms allowing internal-monitoring of these movements. We are also interested in learning how fixational eye movements in general (including slow ocular drifts) may help us further understand the nature of covert visual processing in the brain.
See our description of a MECHANISM FOR MICROSACCADE GENERATION