Peri-saccadic mislocalization is not influenced by the predictability of the saccade target location

Flashes presented around the time of a saccade are often mislocalized. The precise pattern of mislocalization is influenced by many factors. Here we study one such factor: the predictability of the saccade target’s location. The experiment examines two conditions. In the first the subject makes the same horizontal rightward saccade to the same target location over and over again. In the second the subject makes saccades to a target that is jumping in unpredictable radial directions. A dot is flashed in the vicinity of the saccade target near the time of saccade onset. Subjects are asked to localize the flash by touching its location on the screen. Although various saccade parameters differed, the errors that subjects made were very similar in both conditions. We conclude that the pattern of mislocalization does not depend on the predictability of the location of the saccade target.

Research highlights
► Saccade parameters depend on the predictability of the saccade target location.
► Mislocalization pattern does not depend on predictability of saccade target location.
► New method to determine the shift and compression of peri-saccadic mislocalization.
► Making saccades to unpredictable locations is easier than to predictable locations.