Early visual signatures and benefits of intra-saccadic motion streaks

Eye movements routinely induce motion streaks as they shift visual projections across the retina at high speeds. To investigate the visual consequences of intra-saccadic motion streaks, we co-registered eye tracking and EEG while gaze-contingently shifting target objects during saccades, presenting either continuous, ‘streaky’ or apparent, step-like motion in four directions. We found significant reductions of secondary saccade latency, as well as improved decoding of the post-saccadic target location from the EEG signal when motion streaks were available. These signals arose as early as 50 ms after saccade offset and had a clear occipital topography. Using a physiologically plausible visual processing model, we provide evidence that the target’s motion trajectory is coded in orientation-selective channels and that speed of gaze correction was linked to the visual dynamics arising from the combination of saccadic and target motion, providing a parsimonious explanation of the behavioral benefits of intra-saccadic motion streaks.