arXiv:2508.18404q-bio.NCcs.CV2025-08

人类看图时会避开之前眼动路径的交叉,这是种高效探索策略。

Saccade crossing avoidance as a visual search strategy

  • 提出自交叉回避机制:眼动避免重复穿越旧路径,尤其短距离眼动更明显。
  • 实测数据表明该效应强度与抑制回返相当,且在最近7秒路径中影响最大。
  • 个体差异显著,回避倾向高者眼动更短、注视时间更短,适合认知神经研究。

尽管视觉搜索看似随机,但眼动方向和幅度受先前扫描路径影响。利用运动生态学中的步选择框架,分析45秒内观看《找沃尔多》游戏的数据,发现一种新的记忆依赖性效应——自交叉回避:眼动倾向于避开早期路径的交叉,尤其在小幅度眼动中更明显。通过对比真实数据与无记忆的马尔可夫非参数模型生成的合成数据,验证了该效应存在。最大似然拟合显示,该效应在最近约7秒路径中最强,其效应量与抑制回返相当。引入自交叉惩罚项的参数化概率模型能有效复现眼动长度与交叉的联合统计特征。混合效应回归分析显示,自交叉回避倾向高的个体平均眼动更短、注视时间更短,但水平、垂直、前向或反向眼动比例无差异。结果表明,自交叉回避是一种局部定向策略,有助于补充抑制回返,促进视觉场景探索。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Although visual search appears largely random, several oculomotor biases exist such that the likelihoods of saccade directions and lengths depend on the previous scan path. Compared to the most recent fixations, the impact of the longer path history is more difficult to quantify. Using the step-selection framework commonly used in movement ecology, and analyzing data from 45-second viewings of "Where's Waldo?", we report a new memory-dependent effect that also varies significantly between individuals, which we term self-crossing avoidance. This is a tendency for saccades to avoid crossing those earlier in the scan path, and is most evident when both have small amplitudes. We show this by comparing real data to synthetic data generated from a memoryless approximation of the spatial statistics (i.e. a Markovian nonparametric model with a matching distribution of saccade lengths over time). Maximum likelihood fitting indicates that this effect is strongest when including the last $\approx 7$ seconds of a scan path. The effect size is comparable to well-known forms of history dependence such as inhibition of return. A parametric probabilistic model including a self-crossing penalty term was able to reproduce joint statistics of saccade lengths and self-crossings. We also quantified individual strategic differences, and their consistency over the six images viewed per participant, using mixed-effect regressions. Participants with a higher tendency to avoid crossings displayed smaller saccade lengths and shorter fixation durations on average, but did not display more horizontal, vertical, forward or reverse saccades. Together, these results indicate that the avoidance of crossings is a local orienting strategy that facilitates and complements inhibition of return, and hence exploration of visual scenes.

眼动追踪视觉搜索认知机制

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