Temporal attention and oculomotor effects dissociate distinct types of temporal expectation

Abstract

Temporal expectation-the ability to predict when events occur-relies on probabilistic information within the environment. Two types of temporal expectation, temporal precision, based on the variability of an events onset, and hazard rate, based on the increasing probability of an event with onset delay, interact with temporal attention-ability to prioritize specific moments- at the performance level: Attentional benefits increase with precision but diminish with hazard rate. Both temporal expectation and temporal attention improve fixational stability; however, the distinct oculomotor effects of temporal precision and hazard rate, as well as their interactions with temporal attention, remain unknown. Investigating microsaccade dynamics, we found that hazard-based expectations were reflected in the oculomotor responses, whereas precision-based expectations emerged only when temporal attention was deployed. We also found perception-eye movement dissociations for both types of temporal expectation, yet attentional benefits in performance coincided with microsaccade rate modulations. These findings reveal an interplay among distinct types of temporal expectation and temporal attention in enhancing and recalibrating fixational stability.