Minimal dynamical description of eye movements

Abstract

In this paper we have addressed the question of whether a simple set of functions being the solution of a model, namely the damped harmonic oscillator with a general driving force, can satisfactorily describe data corresponding to ocular movements produced during a visual search task. Taking advantage of its mathematical tractability, we first focused on the simplest driving force compatible to the experimental data, a step-like activation. Under this hypothesis we were able to further simplify the system, once data from several experiments were fitted, producing an essentially parameter-free model that we plan to use in future applications. To increase the quality of the description of individual movements, we expanded the complexity in the forcing term and solved the inverse problem by using a proper mathematical formalism. Furthermore, additional terms, those arising from ocular drift and tremor, may be included within the same mathematical approach.