The Gap Effect for Eye and Hand Movements

Overview

Journal Percept Psychophys

Specialties Psychiatry
Psychology

Date 1996 May 1

PMID 8934692

Citations 17

Authors

H Bekkering

J Pratt

R A Abrams

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A temporal gap between fixation point offset and stimulus onset typically yields shorter saccadic latencies to the stimulus than if the fixation stimulus remained on. Several researchers have explored the extent to which this gap also reduces latencies of other responses but have failed to find a gap effect isolated from general warning effects. Experiment 1, however, showed a robust gap effect for aimed hand movements (which required determination of a precise spatial location), regardless of whether the hand moved alone or was accompanied by a saccadic eye movement. Experiment 2 replicated this aimed hand gap effect and also showed a smaller effect for choice manual keypress responses (which required determination of the direction of response only). Experiment 3 showed no gap effect for simple manual keypress responses (which required no spatial determination). The results are consistent with an interpretation of the gap effect in terms of facilitation of spatially oriented responses.

Citing Articles

Reduced latency in manual interception with anticipatory smooth eye movements.

Miyamoto T, Numasawa K, Hirano R, Yoshimura Y, Ono S iScience. 2025; 28(2):111849.

PMID: 39967873 PMC: 11834127. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111849.

Multisensory temporal binding induces an illusory gap/overlap that reduces the expected audiovisual interactions on saccades but not manual responses.

Vidal M, Vitu F PLoS One. 2022; 17(4):e0266468.

PMID: 35390067 PMC: 8989229. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266468.

The gap effect reduces both manual and saccadic inhibition of return (IOR).

Michalczyk L, Bielas J Exp Brain Res. 2019; 237(7):1643-1653.

PMID: 30953082 PMC: 6584218. DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05537-8.

To look or not to look? Reward, selection history, and oculomotor guidance.

Preciado D, Theeuwes J J Neurophysiol. 2018; 120(4):1740-1752.

PMID: 30020840 PMC: 6230805. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00275.2018.

Corrective response times in a coordinated eye-head-arm countermanding task.

Tao G, Khan A, Blohm G J Neurophysiol. 2018; 119(6):2036-2051.

PMID: 29465326 PMC: 6032126. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00460.2017.

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