Microsaccadic modulation in goal-directed reaching

During my time at Queen’s I collaborated with Renato Moraes, a professor from Universidade de São Paulo, who was on sabbatical at the time. Our paper Microsaccadic modulation in goal-directed reaching has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Vision special issue “Eye Movements as Windows to the Mind: The Integration of Eye Movements, Perception, Attention, and Cognition – Honoring the Contributions of Eileen Kowler”. I have written a little poem inspired by “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!” by Dr. Seuss.

Microsaccadic modulation in goal-directed reaching
By Dr. Foo’ss
——
Oh, the thinks your eyes think!

They can think about dots,
they can think about tones,
they can think about spots,
they can think about zones,
they can think about touch,
they can think such and such.

They think and they slow,
the eyes start to snore,
they think and they slow,
microsaccades are no more.

When thinking about events,
the microsaccade rate dents.
The event will signal go,
the eyes think and slow.
When thinking about seeing,
the eyes become slower,
When thinking about reaching,
microsaccades are even lower.

The eyes think and think,
but they also can see.
They can see the go cue
that acts like a boo.
The cue, like a sneeze,
makes your eyes stop and freeze.
A stimulus reaction
different from abstraction.

Oh, the thinks your eyes think!
They can think about things.
Things that are moving,
the event of removing,
things that disappear,
a thing drawing near.
They can think about action.
The action of reaching.
The event of completing.
Actions that lead to a goal,
like reaching to a pole.

When thinking about action,
the eyes are still slow.
The act of protraction,
makes microsaccades low.
When thinking about things,
the eyes are so slow,
A target approaching and
the rate remains low.

Oh, the thinks your eyes think!
Your eyes think and reflect,
your eyes reflect anticipation,
your eyes think quite unchecked
about upcoming sensation,
about sensorimotor events,
as the microsaccade rate dents.