Executing actions guides the eyes selectively towards action-related body part images suppressed from visual awareness.

Abstract

Visual stimuli that are not consciously perceived can nevertheless guide the eyes. Yet, which stimulus aspects drive such oculomotor guidance by "invisible" images remains unclear. We tested whether image representations strengthened by congruent actions could guide the eyes even in the absence of visual awareness. Images of snapping fingers, tapping feet, and static noses were continuously suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression; participants' eye gaze was tracked as they snapped their fingers, tapped their foot, or executed no action. The eyes were attracted towards suppressed foot and finger images, but not suppressed nose images, when participants executed an action, but not when they remained motionless. Thus, suppressed images of action-related body parts selectively attracted the eyes when an action was performed. These results indicate that an effector-unspecific strengthening of image representations through concurrently executed actions drives oculomotor behavior even in the absence of visual awareness.