Sensitivity to natural 3D image transformations during eye movements

Abstract

The saccadic suppression effect, in which visual sensitivity is reduced significantly during saccades, has been suggested as a mechanism for masking graphic updates in a 3D virtual environment. In this study, we investigate whether the degree of saccadic suppression depends on the type of image change, particularly between different natural 3D scene transformations. The user observed 3D scenes and made a horizontal saccade in response to the displacement of a target object in the scene. During this saccade the entire scene translated or rotated. We studied six directions of transformation corresponding to the canonical directions for the six degrees of freedom. Following each trial, the user made a forced-choice indication of direction of the scene change. Results show that during horizontal saccades, the most recognizable changes were rotations along the roll axis.