Seeing from the inside out: Intrinsic neural dynamics explain individual differences in movie watching

Abstract

When viewing the same movie, individuals attend to different visual elements and construct distinct narratives. We hypothesized that these differences arise partly from intrinsic neural dynamics that specify upcoming visual content before eye movements occur, particularly when external visual saliency is low. Using fMRI and eye-tracking during a two-hour movie (n=12), we examined spontaneous gaze shifts during low versus high visual saliency periods. During low-saliency periods, when inter-individual variability was greatest, we found that visual features of upcoming gaze targets 2 seconds before eye movements could be predicted by right temporo-parieto-occipital junction (R-TPOJ) activity. Critically, the strength of connectivity between R-TPOJ and the right superior parietal lobule, which predicts gaze position, correlated with gaze-shift frequency during low-saliency periods. These findings suggest that R-TPOJ specifies the next scene content prior to foveation, and that eye movements serve to align this internally specified content with external stimuli, thereby shaping individual differences during movie-watching.