Gaze distractors influence saccadic curvature: Evidence for the role of the oculomotor system in gaze-cued orienting

We examined the role of the oculomotor system in gaze-triggered orienting of attention by measuring whether perceiving of task-irrelevant gaze distractors and peripheral spatial distractors influence saccadic curvature similarly. Participants performed reflexive, vertical saccades to designated target areas while their eye movements were recorded. Schematic faces with averted gaze or peripheral boxes were presented before or simultaneously (−100 ms/0 ms SOAs) with the imperative signal. Gaze distractors caused the saccades to curve away from the distractor direction at both SOAs and peripheral distractors only at the 0-ms SOA. The results imply that gaze-cued shifts of visual attention involve both cortical attention orienting systems and subcortical oculomotor systems.