Tracking internal attention through the eyes: what we have learned so far

Selective attention can be directed not only to external sensations, but also to internal representations held within the spatial lay-out of working memory. We have recently uncovered how such internally directed selective attention is associated with directional biases in small eye movements known as microsaccades – extending the role of the oculomotor system to internal orienting of visual attention. In my talk, I will highlight this finding and show how we have started to utilise directional biases in microsaccades as a novel approach for tracking internal attention along three dimensions: to track (1) whether internal attention is deployed, (2) when it is deployed, and (3) where it is deployed. Doing so, I will illustrate how the study of microsaccades can be used to uncover new insights into the principles and mechanisms of internally directed selective visual attention in dynamic and immersive settings. I will finally address how such directional biases in microsaccades relate to neural modulation by covert spatial attention, arguing for a functional but not obligatory link between ocular and neural signatures of covert spatial attention.