Staff

Professor John Findlay

(email at j.m.findlay@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

My research focuses on human visual attention and eye movements. When we are using vision, we are constantly moving our eyes to look at different parts of the visual world. How does the brain/mind decide what to look at next? The answers emerging to this question bridge the gap between brain and mind by bringing together knowledge of the brain processes involved in eye movement control with more cognitive descriptions of the visual process. Recent work has included discovering similarities between the processes which segment the visual world and those that direct the eyes and investigating the way in which the two eyes co-operate to move rapidly to new locations at different distances from the observer.

Topics currently under study are the control of eye movements during search for visual targets in both artificial and natural situations, eye movement patterns when looking at faces eye movements and attentional control in patients with brain damage and eye movement control when viewing virtual reality like displays.

Research Interests

• Eye movements and visual attention in visual perception
• Perception of objects and scenes
• Perceptual and cognitive factors involved in interactions with graphical displays
• Picture scanning and visual search tasks
• The relationship between central and peripheral vision

Selected Publications

Books: authored

• . (2003). Active Vision: The Psychology of Looking and Seeing. Oxford University Press.

Books: reviews

• Findlay, J.M. (2005). Early views of viewing. Nature 437(7057): 321-321.

Books: sections

• Findlay, J.M. (2005). Covert attention and saccadic eye movements. In Neurobiology of Attention. Itti, L., Rees, G. & Tsotsos, J. London New York: Academic Press. 114-117.
• Findlay, J.M. & Gilchrist, I.D. (2005). Eye guidance and visual search. In Cognitive Processes in Eye Guidance. Underwood G Oxford: Oxford University Press. 259-281.
• J. Hyönä&, R. Radach & H. Deubel (2003). Eye movements and visual information processing. In The Mind’s Eye: Cognitive and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 143-155.
• M. Jenkin & L.R. Harris (2001). Visual attention: the active vision perspective. In Vision and Attention. New York: Springer-Verlag. 83-103.

Edited works: conference proceedings

• Gilchrist, I.D., Brown, V., Findlay, J.M. & Clarke, M.P. (1998). Using the eye movement system to control the head. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) Series B.

Journal papers: academic

• Liversedge S P Rayner K, White S J Findlay J M & McSorley E (2006). Binocular coordination of the eyes during reading. Current Biology 16(17): 1726-1729.
• Findlay, J. M. & Brown, V. (2006). Eye scanning of multi-element displays. I. Scanpath planning. Vision Research 46(1-2): 179-195.
• Findlay, J. M. & Brown, V. (2006). Eye scanning of multi-element displays: II. Saccade planning. Vision Research 46(1-2): 216-227.
• Blythe H I, Liversedge S P, Joseph H S S L, White S J Findlay J M & Rayner K (2006). The Binocular Coordination of Eye Movements during Reading in Adults and Children. Vision Research 46(22): 3898-3908.
• Liversedge, S.P., Rayner, K., White, S.J., Vergilino-Perez, D., Findlay, J.M. & Kentridge, R. (2004). Eye movements when reading disappearing text: Is there a gap effect in reading? Vision Research 44: 1013-1024.
• Newell, F. N, Brown, V. & Findlay, J.M. (2004). Is object search mediated by object-based or image-based representations. Spatial Vision 17: 511-541.
• Vergilino-Perez, D. & Findlay, J.M. (2003). Foveal stimulation and saccadic latencies. Experimental Brain Research 150: 255-258.
• McSorley, E. & Findlay, J.M. (2003). Saccade target selection in visual search: Accuracy improves when more distractors are present. Journal of Vision 3: 877-892.
• Findlay, J.M. & White, S.J. (2003). Serial programming for saccades: Does it all add up? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 26: 483-484.
• Gilchrist, I.D., Heywood, C.A. & Findlay, J.M. (2003). Visual sensitivity in search tasks depends on the response requirement. Spatial Vision 16: 277-293.
• McSorley, E. & Findlay, J.M. (2002). Are spatial frequencies integrated from coarse to fine? Perception 31: 955-967.
• Findlay, J.M., Brown, V. & Gilchrist, I.D. (2001). Saccade target selection in visual search: the effect of information from the previous fixation. Vision Research 41(1): 87-95.
• McSorley, E. & Findlay, J.M. (2001). Visual search in depth. Vision Research 41(25-26): 3487-3496.
• Liversedge, S.P. & Findlay, J.M. (2000). Eye movements reflect cognitive processes. Trends in Cognitive Science 4(1): 6-14.
• Feeney, A., Hola, A.K.W., Liversedge, S.P., Findlay, J.M. & Metcalf, R. (2000). How people extract information from graphs: Evidence from a sentence-graph verification paradigm. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 1889: 149-161.
• Popple, A.V. & Findlay, J.M. (1999). ‘Coarse-to-fine’ cyclopean processing. Perception 28: 155-165.
• Findlay, J.M. & Walker, R. (1999). A model of saccade generation based on parallel processing and competitive inhibition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22: 661-674.
• McSorley, E. & Findlay, J.M. (1999). An examination of a temporal anisotropy in the visual integration of spatial frequencies. Perception 28: 1031-1050.
• Findlay, J.M. & Walker, R. (1999). How are saccades generated? Authors' response to commentaries. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22: 706-721.
• Brown, V., Walker, R., Gray, C. & Findlay, J.M. (1999). Limb activation and the rehabilitation of unilateral neglect: evidence of task-specific effects. Neurocase 5: 129-142.
• Gilchrist, I.D., Heywood, C.A. & Findlay, J.M. (1999). Saccade selection in visual search: evidence for spatial frequency specific between-item interactions. Vision Research 39: 1373-1383.
• Gilchrist, I.D., Findlay, J.M. & Heywood, C.A. (1999). Surface and edge information for spatial integration: a saccadic-selection task. Visual Cognition 6: 363-384.
• Popple, A.V., Smallman, H.S. & Findlay, J.M. (1998). The area of spatial integration for horizontal disparity vergence. Vision Research 38(2): 319-326.
• Findlay JM, Walker, R., Deubel, H. & Schneider, W.X. (1997). Effect of remote distractors on saccade programming: evidence for an extended fixation zone. Journal of Neurophysiology 78 1108-1119
• Findlay, J.M. (1997). Saccade target selection during visual search. Vision Research 37(5): 617-631.
• Walker, R., Deubel, H., Schneider, W.X. & Findlay, J.M. (1997). The effect of remote distractors on saccade programming: evidence for an extended fixation zone. Journal of Neurophysiology 78: 1108-1119.
• Findlay, J.M., Brown, V. & Gilchrist, I.D. (1997). The rhythm of the eyes: overt and covert attentional pointing. Commentary on Ballard D et al 'Deicitic codes for the embodiment of cognition'. Behaviour and Brain Sciences 20: 747.
• Walker, R. & Findlay, J.M. (1996). Saccadic eye movement programming in unilateral neglect. Neuropsychologia 34(6): 493-508.
• Walker, R., Findlay, J.M., Young, A.W. & Lincoln, N. (1996). Saccadic eye movements in object based neglect. Cognitive Neuropsychology 13(4): 569-615.

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Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

• Computers: human-computer interaction
• Vision / eye movement: visual interactions with computer displays
• Vision / eye movement: abnormalities of vision of a neuropsychological and neurooptometric nature
• Vision / eye movement: active vision, eye scanning, eye movements
• Vision / eye movement: visual perception