Saccadic suppression enhances saliency of ecologically relevant stimuli in the zebrafish optic tectum
- 1Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- 2Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Abstract
Saccadic suppression, a reduction in visual sensitivity around the time of rapid eye movements, is well-documented in primate psychophysics, but its mechanisms and functions remain debated. Here, we use zebrafish to trace the origins of saccadic suppression, and we demonstrate how saccadic suppression selectively enhances the visual salience of ecologically relevant stimuli. Saccadic suppression thus contributes to more than just compensation for rapid saccade-induced image shifts. We first established a behavioral correlate of saccadic suppression in larval zebrafish escape behavior. Then, using electrophysiology, we show that retinal ganglion cells jumpstart saccadic suppression in a spatial frequency-dependent manner. Calcium imaging, combined with 360° visual stimulation and behavioral tracking, revealed that motor signals enhance peri-saccadic suppression strength in the optic tectum, where suppression lasts for more than 3,000 ms. Notably, saccadic suppression is much weaker and more short-lived for stimuli related to hunting or escape behavior than for behaviorally less relevant global flashes. This unequal attenuation effectively increases the salience of the ecologically relevant stimuli in the optic tectum after saccades. Our results demonstrate that saccadic suppression integrates visual and motor signals to optimize sensory processing within neural constraints, and they provide insights into evolutionarily conserved visual strategies.
Saccadic suppression, wherein visual sensitivity is reduced around eye movement windows, has an unclear functional explanation. This study traces long-lasting saccadic suppression within the zebrafish visual system and presents evidence suggesting that it may enhance the salience of hunting- or escape-related stimuli.
Related
- Species-specific sensorimotor noise levels explain saccadic suppression strength differences between macaques and zebrafish
- Pre-saccadic suppression and compensatory cortical distortions support predictive visual remapping
- Volatile-mediated microbiome enrichment by Streptomyces albidoflavus G1 enhances suppression of apple ring rot pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea
- Saccadic Neural Command Estimation via Forward Dynamics Control: Influence of Extraocular Muscle Geometry on Physiological Plausibility
- Auditory localization improves with aligned saccadic orienting
BibTeX
@article{soto2026saccadic,
title = {{Saccadic suppression enhances saliency of ecologically relevant stimuli in the zebrafish optic tectum}},
author = {Giulia Soto and Carina Thomas and Louis Funk and Tim C. Hladnik and Florian A. Dehmelt and Ziad M. Hafed and Aristides B. Arrenberg},
journal = {PLOS Biology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3004093},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004093},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Saccadic suppression enhances saliency of ecologically relevant stimuli in the zebrafish optic tectum
AU - Giulia Soto
AU - Carina Thomas
AU - Louis Funk
AU - Tim C. Hladnik
AU - Florian A. Dehmelt
AU - Ziad M. Hafed
AU - Aristides B. Arrenberg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - PLOS Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3004093
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004093
AB - Saccadic suppression, a reduction in visual sensitivity around the time of rapid eye movements, is well-documented in primate psychophysics, but its mechanisms and functions remain debated. Here, we use zebrafish to trace the origins of saccadic suppression, and we demonstrate how saccadic suppression selectively enhances the visual salience of ecologically relevant stimuli. Saccadic suppression thus contributes to more than just compensation for rapid saccade-induced image shifts. We first established a behavioral correlate of saccadic suppression in larval zebrafish escape behavior. Then, using electrophysiology, we show that retinal ganglion cells jumpstart saccadic suppression in a spatial frequency-dependent manner. Calcium imaging, combined with 360° visual stimulation and behavioral tracking, revealed that motor signals enhance peri-saccadic suppression strength in the optic tectum, where suppression lasts for more than 3,000 ms. Notably, saccadic suppression is much weaker and more short-lived for stimuli related to hunting or escape behavior than for behaviorally less relevant global flashes. This unequal attenuation effectively increases the salience of the ecologically relevant stimuli in the optic tectum after saccades. Our results demonstrate that saccadic suppression integrates visual and motor signals to optimize sensory processing within neural constraints, and they provide insights into evolutionarily conserved visual strategies. Saccadic suppression, wherein visual sensitivity is reduced around eye movement windows, has an unclear functional explanation. This study traces long-lasting saccadic suppression within the zebrafish visual system and presents evidence suggesting that it may enhance the salience of hunting- or escape-related stimuli.
SN - 1545-7885
ER -