From the Corner of Our Eye: The Role of Extrafoveal Vision in Target Selection

We are surrounded by a sensory-rich world, filled with visual information. As we interact with our environment, our focus is typically drawn to the elements of the visual scene directly in front of us. When a particular item is located far from the center of our gaze (at a large eccentricity), we instinctively move our eyes around the visual field until the relevant item is brought into the center of our vision. We do so because central (foveal) vision allows us to see the fine details of a scene, in contrast to the low resolution of extrafoveal, peripheral vision. Yet, most of our visual experience comes from the periphery - i.e., from the corner of our eye. While this aspect of vision has been repeatedly overlooked, extrafoveal vision provides us with vital information about where to look next, and therefore plays a crucial role in adaptive behavior. In this work, I set out to investigate how eccentricity affects visual selection, both at the behavioral and neurophysiological level. By bringing extrafoveal processing to the center stage, I hope to provide further insights into the mechanisms that allow our visual system to make quick decisions in a constantly changing world.