In order to prevent blurring of the image during a saccade, vision is suppressed by the cortex which is known as _______________.

• A. Saccadic suppression
• B. Blink suppression
• C. Fixation suppression
• D. Motion suppression

Answer: (A)

During rapid eye movements, vision is briefly turned down to prevent the scene from appearing smeared. This occurs because the brain uses a copy of the motor command to the eyes, signaling an impending saccade, and transiently dampens processing in the visual system. The result is a temporary reduction in visual sensitivity that starts before and continues through the saccade, so perception of the moving image is avoided and the world appears stable. After the movement, vision returns quickly. This phenomenon is specific to saccades and is not the same as vision interruption from blinking or other nonstandard terms.