Unexpected sounds inhibit the movement of the eyes during reading and letter scanning

Authors: Vasilev, M.R., Lowman, M., Bills, K., Parmentier, F.B.R. and Kirkby, J.A.

Journal: Psychophysiology

Volume: 60

Issue: 12

eISSN: 1469-8986

ISSN: 0048-5772

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14389

Abstract:

Novel sounds that unexpectedly deviate from a repetitive sound sequence are well known to cause distraction. Such unexpected sounds have also been shown to cause global motor inhibition, suggesting that they trigger a neurophysiological response aimed at stopping ongoing actions. Recently, evidence from eye movements has suggested that unexpected sounds also temporarily pause the movements of the eyes during reading, though it is unclear if this effect is due to inhibition of oculomotor planning or inhibition of language processes. Here, we sought to distinguish between these two possibilities by comparing a natural reading task to a letter scanning task that involves similar oculomotor demands to reading, but no higher level lexical processing. Participants either read sentences for comprehension or scanned letter strings of these sentences for the letter ‘o’ in three auditory conditions: silence, standard, and novel sounds. The results showed that novel sounds were equally distracting in both tasks, suggesting that they generally inhibit ongoing oculomotor processes independent of lexical processing. These results suggest that novel sounds may have a global suppressive effect on eye-movement control.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38815/

Source: Scopus

Unexpected sounds inhibit the movement of the eyes during reading and letter scanning.

Authors: Vasilev, M.R., Lowman, M., Bills, K., Parmentier, F.B.R. and Kirkby, J.A.

Journal: Psychophysiology

Volume: 60

Issue: 12

Pages: e14389

eISSN: 1469-8986

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14389

Abstract:

Novel sounds that unexpectedly deviate from a repetitive sound sequence are well known to cause distraction. Such unexpected sounds have also been shown to cause global motor inhibition, suggesting that they trigger a neurophysiological response aimed at stopping ongoing actions. Recently, evidence from eye movements has suggested that unexpected sounds also temporarily pause the movements of the eyes during reading, though it is unclear if this effect is due to inhibition of oculomotor planning or inhibition of language processes. Here, we sought to distinguish between these two possibilities by comparing a natural reading task to a letter scanning task that involves similar oculomotor demands to reading, but no higher level lexical processing. Participants either read sentences for comprehension or scanned letter strings of these sentences for the letter 'o' in three auditory conditions: silence, standard, and novel sounds. The results showed that novel sounds were equally distracting in both tasks, suggesting that they generally inhibit ongoing oculomotor processes independent of lexical processing. These results suggest that novel sounds may have a global suppressive effect on eye-movement control.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38815/

Source: PubMed

Unexpected sounds inhibit the movement of the eyes during reading and letter scanning

Authors: Vasilev, M.R.R., Lowman, M., Bills, K., Parmentier, F.B.R. and Kirkby, J.A.A.

Journal: PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY

Volume: 60

Issue: 12

eISSN: 1469-8986

ISSN: 0048-5772

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14389

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38815/

Source: Web of Science (Lite)

Unexpected sounds inhibit the movement of the eyes during reading and letter scanning.

Authors: Vasilev, M.R., Lowman, M., Bills, K., Parmentier, F.B.R. and Kirkby, J.A.

Journal: Psychophysiology

Volume: 60

Issue: 12

Pages: e14389

eISSN: 1540-5958

ISSN: 0048-5772

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14389

Abstract:

Novel sounds that unexpectedly deviate from a repetitive sound sequence are well known to cause distraction. Such unexpected sounds have also been shown to cause global motor inhibition, suggesting that they trigger a neurophysiological response aimed at stopping ongoing actions. Recently, evidence from eye movements has suggested that unexpected sounds also temporarily pause the movements of the eyes during reading, though it is unclear if this effect is due to inhibition of oculomotor planning or inhibition of language processes. Here, we sought to distinguish between these two possibilities by comparing a natural reading task to a letter scanning task that involves similar oculomotor demands to reading, but no higher level lexical processing. Participants either read sentences for comprehension or scanned letter strings of these sentences for the letter 'o' in three auditory conditions: silence, standard, and novel sounds. The results showed that novel sounds were equally distracting in both tasks, suggesting that they generally inhibit ongoing oculomotor processes independent of lexical processing. These results suggest that novel sounds may have a global suppressive effect on eye-movement control.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38815/

Source: Europe PubMed Central

Unexpected sounds inhibit the movement of the eyes during reading and letter scanning.

Authors: Vasilev, M.R., Lowman, M., Bills, K., Parmentier, F.B.R. and Kirkby, J.A.

Journal: Psychophysiology

Volume: 60

Issue: 12

ISSN: 0048-5772

Abstract:

Novel sounds that unexpectedly deviate from a repetitive sound sequence are well known to cause distraction. Such unexpected sounds have also been shown to cause global motor inhibition, suggesting that they trigger a neurophysiological response aimed at stopping ongoing actions. Recently, evidence from eye movements has suggested that unexpected sounds also temporarily pause the movements of the eyes during reading, though it is unclear if this effect is due to inhibition of oculomotor planning or inhibition of language processes. Here, we sought to distinguish between these two possibilities by comparing a natural reading task to a letter scanning task that involves similar oculomotor demands to reading, but no higher level lexical processing. Participants either read sentences for comprehension or scanned letter strings of these sentences for the letter 'o' in three auditory conditions: silence, standard, and novel sounds. The results showed that novel sounds were equally distracting in both tasks, suggesting that they generally inhibit ongoing oculomotor processes independent of lexical processing. These results suggest that novel sounds may have a global suppressive effect on eye-movement control.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38815/

Source: BURO EPrints