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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Neurology

Directional differences in saccades

  • Takashi Jono1,2
  • Koji Takahashi3
  • Hiroya Hara3
  • Yosuke Kudo1
  • Erich Schneider4
  • Mitsuo Shiono5
  • Fumiaki Tanaka2
  • Ken Johkura1,3
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Neurology, Yokohama Brain and Spine Center
  2. 2Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine
  3. 3Department of Clinical Laboratory, Yokohama Brain and Spine Center
  4. 4Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus
  5. 5Zero C Seven Inc.
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Abstract

Introduction: Though saccades are believed to be generated by similar neural mechanisms in all directions, measurements show directional differences in movement characteristics. The mechanisms and causes of these differences remain unclear.

Methods: This study investigated directional differences in saccades in 48 healthy participants (28 males, 20 females; mean age 40.38 years). An EyeSeeCam Sci 2 video-oculography system with a sampling rate of 500 Hz was used to measure centrifugal and centripetal horizontal (5 °, 10 °, 15 °, and 20 °) and vertical (5 °, 10 °, and 15 °) visually guided saccades.

Results: Horizontally, when amplitude was large (15 ° and 20 °), saccades in the medial hemifield were faster than in the lateral hemifield in both centrifugal and centripetal directions. Centripetal saccades were significantly faster than centrifugal ones. Vertically, with large amplitude (15 °), saccades in the upper hemifield were significantly faster than in the lower hemifield in both directions. As horizontally, centripetal saccades were faster than centrifugal ones in the upper hemifield. No clear trends appeared in horizontal saccade latency and amplitude. However, shorter latencies for centripetal saccades and larger amplitudes for upward saccades were noted vertically.

Disucussion: The medial-lateral eye position difference likely relates to saccade-vergence interaction. Other directional saccade asymmetries are attributed to physical properties, like the elastic restoring force in the centripetal direction and viscous resistance from eyelid coverage in the lower eye position, rather than neural mechanisms. Saccade motor characteristics are strongly influenced by periocular tissues.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{jono2026directional,
  title = {{Directional differences in saccades}},
  author = {Takashi Jono and Koji Takahashi and Hiroya Hara and Yosuke Kudo and Erich Schneider and Mitsuo Shiono and Fumiaki Tanaka and Ken Johkura},
  journal = {Frontiers in Neurology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fneur.2026.1945647},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2026.1945647/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Directional differences in saccades
AU  - Takashi Jono
AU  - Koji Takahashi
AU  - Hiroya Hara
AU  - Yosuke Kudo
AU  - Erich Schneider
AU  - Mitsuo Shiono
AU  - Fumiaki Tanaka
AU  - Ken Johkura
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Frontiers in Neurology
DO  - 10.3389/fneur.2026.1945647
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2026.1945647/full
AB  - Introduction: Though saccades are believed to be generated by similar neural mechanisms in all directions, measurements show directional differences in movement characteristics. The mechanisms and causes of these differences remain unclear.  Methods: This study investigated directional differences in saccades in 48 healthy participants (28 males, 20 females; mean age 40.38 years). An EyeSeeCam Sci 2 video-oculography system with a sampling rate of 500 Hz was used to measure centrifugal and centripetal horizontal (5 °, 10 °, 15 °, and 20 °) and vertical (5 °, 10 °, and 15 °) visually guided saccades.  Results: Horizontally, when amplitude was large (15 ° and 20 °), saccades in the medial hemifield were faster than in the lateral hemifield in both centrifugal and centripetal directions. Centripetal saccades were significantly faster than centrifugal ones. Vertically, with large amplitude (15 °), saccades in the upper hemifield were significantly faster than in the lower hemifield in both directions. As horizontally, centripetal saccades were faster than centrifugal ones in the upper hemifield. No clear trends appeared in horizontal saccade latency and amplitude. However, shorter latencies for centripetal saccades and larger amplitudes for upward saccades were noted vertically.  Disucussion: The medial-lateral eye position difference likely relates to saccade-vergence interaction. Other directional saccade asymmetries are attributed to physical properties, like the elastic restoring force in the centripetal direction and viscous resistance from eyelid coverage in the lower eye position, rather than neural mechanisms. Saccade motor characteristics are strongly influenced by periocular tissues.
SN  - 1664-2295
ER  -