Researchers typically distinguish between two mechanisms of attentional selection in vision: overt and covert attention. A commonplace assumption is that overt eye movements are automatically preceded by shifts of covert attention during visual search. Although the N2pc component is a putative index of covert attentional orienting, little is currently known about its relationship with overt eye movements. This is because most previous studies of the N2pc component prohibit overt eye movements. The current study assessed this relationship by concurrently measuring covert attention (via the N2pc) and overt eye movements (via eye tracking). Participants searched displays for a lateralized target stimulus and were allowed to generate overt eye movements during the search. We then assessed whether overt eye movements were preceded by the N2pc component. The results indicated that saccades were preceded by an N2pc component, but only when participants were required to carefully inspect the target stimulus before initiating the eye movement. When participants were allowed to make naturalistic eye movements in service of visual search, there was no evidence of an N2pc component before eye movements. These findings suggest that the N2pc component does not always precede overt eye movements during visual search. Implications for understanding the relationship between covert and overt attention are discussed.

中文翻译：

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N2pc 组件不强制在眼球运动之前

研究人员通常区分视觉注意选择的两种机制：显性注意和隐性注意。一个普遍的假设是，在视觉搜索过程中，明显的眼球运动会自动发生在隐蔽注意力的转移之前。虽然 N2pc 分量是隐蔽注意力定向的推定指数，但目前对其与明显眼球运动的关系知之甚少。这是因为大多数先前对 N2pc 组件的研究都禁止明显的眼球运动。目前的研究通过同时测量隐蔽注意力（通过 N2pc）和明显的眼球运动（通过眼动追踪）来评估这种关系。参与者搜索显示的横向目标刺激，并允许在搜索过程中产生明显的眼球运动。然后，我们评估了 N2pc 组件是否先于明显的眼球运动。结果表明，眼跳之前有一个 N2pc 组件，但仅当参与者需要在开始眼球运动之前仔细检查目标刺激时。当参与者被允许进行自然主义的眼球运动以服务于视觉搜索时，没有证据表明眼球运动之前存在 N2pc 组件。这些发现表明，在视觉搜索过程中，N2pc 组件并不总是先于明显的眼球运动。讨论了理解隐蔽注意和公开注意之间关系的意义。在眼球运动之前没有证据表明存在 N2pc 成分。这些发现表明，在视觉搜索过程中，N2pc 组件并不总是先于明显的眼球运动。讨论了理解隐蔽注意和公开注意之间关系的意义。在眼球运动之前没有证据表明存在 N2pc 成分。这些发现表明，在视觉搜索过程中，N2pc 组件并不总是先于明显的眼球运动。讨论了理解隐蔽注意和公开注意之间关系的意义。