Michelle Marneweck¹ (), Jackson Zenti¹, Brady Decouto³, Deborah Barany⁴, Nicholas Kreter^1,2; ¹University of Oregon, ²University of North Carolina Greensboro, ³Florida State University, ⁴University of Georgia

When performing aiming tasks, experts exhibit a long-duration gaze fixation on a task-relevant landmark just before the final movement, termed the “quiet eye”. Behavioral studies have provided evidence for two main hypotheses explaining why the quiet eye aids motor performance. One possibility is that the quiet eye supports the time needed to develop a precise motor plan (programming hypothesis). Alternatively, the quiet eye may support the necessary time to inhibit task-irrelevant distractors (inhibition hypothesis). However, behavioral studies alone have not yet disentangled the extent to which the quiet eye contributes to each of these purported functions. Here, we used Bayesian pattern component modeling of task-based fMRI data during a virtual archery task (N = 20) to test how neural representations of task-relevant demand (i.e., aiming at a near vs. far target) and task-irrelevant distractors (i.e., with or without a peripheral visual distraction) are modulated by the extent of gaze stability (fixed/’quiet’ vs. moving/’noisy’). Results showed strong evidence for distinct representations of 1) gaze stability in visual cortex (V1), superior parietal lobe (SPL), dorsal premotor area (PMd), and the primary motor cortex (M1); 2) task-irrelevant visual distractors in V1 only; and 3) task-relevant demand features in V1 and SPL. Consistent with the two hypotheses of quiet eye, the extent of gaze stability modulated representations for both task-relevant demand (V1 and SPL) and task-irrelevant distractors (V1, SPL, PMd, and M1). These results support both quiet-eye hypotheses. However, effects related to the inhibition hypothesis were widespread across visual, parietal, and motor regions, whereas effects related to the motor programming hypothesis were localized to the visual cortex and superior parietal lobe. This divergence of representations across regions indicates that the quiet eye engages multiple, distinct neural processes, rather than a single unified mechanism.

Acknowledgements: Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance