The relationship between gaze behavior, expertise, and performance: A systematic review.

Perceptual-cognitive skills enable an individual to integrate environmental information with existing knowledge to be able to process stimuli and execute appropriate responses on complex tasks. Various underlying processes could explain how perceptual-cognitive skills impact on expert performance, as articulated in three theoretical accounts: (a) the long-term working memory theory, which argues that experts are able to encode and retrieve visual information from long-term working memory more than less experienced counterparts; (b) the information-reduction hypothesis, which suggests that experts can optimize the amount of information processed by selectively allocating their attentional resources to task relevant stimuli and ignore irrelevant stimuli; and (c) the holistic model of image perception, which proposes that experts are able to extract visual information from distal and para-foveal regions, allowing more efficient global-local processing of the scene. In this systematic review, we examine the validity of the aforementioned theories based on gaze features associated with the proposed processes. The information-reduction hypothesis was supported in most studies, except in medicine where the holistic model of image perception garners stronger support. These results indicate that selectively allocating attention toward important task-related information is the most important skill developed in experts across domains, whereas expertise in medicine is reflected more in an extended visual span. Large discrepancies in the outcomes of the papers reviewed suggest that there is not one theory that fits all domains of expertise. The review provides some essential building blocks, however, to help synthesize theoretical concepts across expertise domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Does effective gaze behavior lead to enhanced performance in a complex error-detection cockpit task?

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between expertise, performance, and gaze behavior in a complex error-detection cockpit task. Twenty-four pilots and 26 non-pilots viewed video-clips from a pilot's viewpoint and were asked to detect malfunctions in the cockpit instrument panel. Compared to non-pilots, pilots detected more malfunctioning instruments, had shorter dwell times on the instruments, made more transitions, visited task-relevant areas more often, and dwelled longer on the areas between the instruments. These results provide evidence for three theories that explain underlying processes for expert performance: The long-term working memory theory, the information-reduction hypothesis, and the holistic model of image perception. In addition, the results for generic attentional skills indicated a higher capability to switch between global and local information processing in pilots compared to non-pilots. Taken together, the results suggest that gaze behavior as well as other generic skills may provide important information concerning underlying processes that can explain successful performance during flight in expert pilots.

External cueing improves motor imagery quality in patients with Parkinson disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) are often profoundly slow in their performance of physical tasks, as well as in motor imagery (MI). This may limit the implementation and potential benefits of MI practice during rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated whether the quality of MI could be improved by external cueing. METHODS: Fourteen patients with PD and 14 healthy controls physically executed and visually imagined a goal-directed aiming task and a box-and-block task, both in the presence and absence of visual and auditory cues. Mental chronometry and eye movement recording allowed objective evaluation of the temporal and spatial characteristics of MI when compared with physical execution. Visual analogue scales were used to assess imagery vividness. RESULTS: The presence of visual cues significantly reduced the patients' bradykinesia during MI and increased their imagery vividness. CONCLUSIONS: Visual cueing optimizes MI quality for PD patients and is a potential tool to increase the efficacy of MI practice in PD rehabilitation.

Age-related differences in human corticospinal excitability during simple reaction time.

Age-related declines in central processing may delay the facilitation of corticospinal (CS) tracts that underlie emergence of voluntary responses to external stimuli. To explore this effect, single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the left motor cortex at different latencies from the go-signal (auditory tone) during a simple reaction time (SRT) task with the right or left thumb [i.e. right (RHM) or left hand move (LHM)]. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the right abductor pollicis brevis (APB) were recorded from eleven healthy right-handed participants (aged 22-65; six young adults and five old adults). Both age groups showed significant facilitation of CS excitability approximately 100-120 ms from the onset of the go-signal in the RHM SRT that occurred before the onset of EMG voluntary burst, with no evidence for motor slowing in old adults. Old adults demonstrated a significant facilitation of MEPs in the time that preceded the go-signal for RHM SRT and a marked depression of CS excitability in preparation for the LHM SRT that was sustained up to 80 ms after the onset of the go-signal. Both effects were not seen in young adults. While the small number of participants may hinder the generality of the present observations, this pilot study suggests for the first time that old adults implemented selective tuning of CS excitability prior to the onset of the go command to speed up their response generation.

Facilitation of motor imagery through movement-related cueing.

In the past few years, the use of motor imagery as an adjunct to other forms of training has been studied extensively. However, very little attention has been paid to how imagery could be used to greatest effect. It is well known that the provision of external cues has a beneficial effect on motor skill acquisition and performance during physical practice. Since physical execution and mental imagery share several common mechanisms, we hypothesized that motor imagery might be affected by external cues in a similar way. To examine this, we compared the motor imagery performance of three groups of 15 healthy participants who either physically performed or imagined performing a goal-directed cyclical wrist movement in the presence or the absence of visual and/or auditory external cues. As outcome measures, the participants' imagery vividness scores and eye movements were measured during all conditions. We found that visual movement-related cues improved the spatial accuracy of the participants' eye movements during imagery, while auditory cues specifically enhanced their temporal accuracy. Furthermore, both types of cues significantly improved the participants' imagery vividness. These findings indicate that subjects may imagine a movement in a better way when provided with external movement-related stimuli, which may possibly be useful with regard to the efficiency of mental practice in (clinical) training protocols.