Toward a Computational Model of the Development of Saccade Planning

Eye movements are among the first actions available to the infant to explore and learn about the world. To make accurate eye movements in most natural circumstances, however, requires the integration of information not only about the retinal location of a target, but also about the position of the eyes, head, and torso relative to each other and the location of the target in space. This is especially true in situations where the observer is moving through the environment or shifting gaze with combined eye and head movements. The problem of integrating visual information with signals specifying the configuration and motions of the body is common to most forms of visually guided action, and thus eye-movement control can serve as a model system for investigating the development of action planning in general.