The coordinate system of endogenous spatial attention during smooth pursuit

Abstract

In two separate experiments we show that that during smooth pursuit, attention is proportionally divided between targets in the retinotopic and the spatiotopic frames of reference. This is the case not only when the response is manual but also when the response is a goal-directed oculomotor response. These findings demonstrate flexibility of the endogenous attention system. The endogenous attention system is not hard-wired to one frame of reference but is capable of adapting according to the changing circumstances and the requirements of a specific task.