Two distinct modes of ocular drift observed during figure-ground perception

Two distinct modes of ocular drift observed during figure-ground perception | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Two distinct modes of ocular drift observed during figure-ground perception August Romeo, Maria Sole Puig, Hans Supèr This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Precise coordination between neurons and cortical areas is crucial for sensory perception, yet in vision, continuous fixational eye movements constantly shift retinal input. Traditionally considered random, these drifts modulate neural activity and may challenge the temporal precision needed for perceptual integration, particularly given their partial interocular independence. Recent evidence suggests that ocular drifts are not purely stochastic and play an active role in visual processing. Here, we investigated the impact of fixational eye movements on visual perception using a figure–ground segmentation task. Participants maintained central fixation while viewing textures composed of oriented line segments; they reported the presence or absence of a centrally embedded figure. We simultaneously recorded binocular drift and microsaccades, analyzing interocular coordination through 2D cross-correlograms of angular velocities. We found that figure-presents trials exhibited narrow peaks in interocular correlation, while figure-absent trials showed broader, less synchronized drift patterns. Microsaccades were observed to facilitate drift alignment across the eyes. The decrease in the rate of microsaccades in figure-present trials may explain the change in drift synchrony. These results identify two distinct ocular drift modes associated with different perceptual outcomes. Our findings suggest that ocular drift operates under closed-loop control and contributes to effective visual processing. Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. HS is co-founder of Braingaze Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8699876","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":588429990,"identity":"d58a8d17-6f0f-4926-9e06-31a6b406cec1","order_by":0,"name":"August Romeo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Barcelona","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"August","middleName":"","lastName":"Romeo","suffix":""},{"id":588429992,"identity":"43e8da6e-631e-4cd7-904e-7f95b5daeeb0","order_by":1,"name":"Maria Sole Puig","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Barcelona","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"Sole","lastName":"Puig","suffix":""},{"id":588429993,"identity":"82661ac3-20db-4e50-93f2-44c75a975a3a","order_by":2,"name":"Hans Supèr","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwST+cABUrWwJcC0MDYQqYUHzsavxZz97OEPDH8O5/FLn/l44OceG3kG9sPPH+DTYtmTlybB2Ha4WLIvd8PBnmdphg08QIzXYQdyzIAOOZy44QzvhsMMBw4zNkgwENBy/o0xyGGJ+8/wPABq+W/fIMH+Eb+WGzkGEgxsQFt4eBiAWg4kNkjwELDlxhszicS29GKJM2wGB3sOJCe38eQUzsDvsBzjDx/+WOfx9zA//vDjgJ1tP/vxDR/waQGDBDCCAjaCyhG6RsEoGAWjYBTgAAAcO09Ixm2MgAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Barcelona","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hans","middleName":"","lastName":"Supèr","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-26 11:53:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102404153,"identity":"e94ce0cc-e3d1-432a-9afa-7e2fbbf9e75a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-11 11:01:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":707714,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MSfinal.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8699876/v1_covered_3082e68e-161d-4aed-9a1f-8b9ee5a8dc3c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. HS is co-founder of Braingaze","formattedTitle":"Two distinct modes of ocular drift observed during figure-ground perception","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePrecise coordination between neurons and cortical areas is crucial for sensory perception, yet in vision, continuous fixational eye movements constantly shift retinal input. Traditionally considered random, these drifts modulate neural activity and may challenge the temporal precision needed for perceptual integration, particularly given their partial interocular independence. Recent evidence suggests that ocular drifts are not purely stochastic and play an active role in visual processing. Here, we investigated the impact of fixational eye movements on visual perception using a figure–ground segmentation task. Participants maintained central fixation while viewing textures composed of oriented line segments; they reported the presence or absence of a centrally embedded figure. We simultaneously recorded binocular drift and microsaccades, analyzing interocular coordination through 2D cross-correlograms of angular velocities. We found that figure-presents trials exhibited narrow peaks in interocular correlation, while figure-absent trials showed broader, less synchronized drift patterns. Microsaccades were observed to facilitate drift alignment across the eyes. The decrease in the rate of microsaccades in figure-present trials may explain the change in drift synchrony. These results identify two distinct ocular drift modes associated with different perceptual outcomes. Our findings suggest that ocular drift operates under closed-loop control and contributes to effective visual processing.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Two distinct modes of ocular drift observed during figure-ground perception","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-10 12:51:11","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699876/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"153e52ab-f0d7-4d25-a0cf-d61b36266f23","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-14T15:23:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-10 12:51:11","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8699876","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8699876","identity":"rs-8699876","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}