The role of "rescue saccades" in tracking objects through occlusions

We hypothesize that our ability to track objects through occlusions is mediated by timely assistance from gaze in the form of "rescue saccades"-eye movements to tracked objects that are in danger of being lost due to impending occlusion. Observers tracked 2-4 target sharks (out of 9) for 20 s as they swam through a rendered 3D underwater scene. Targets were either allowed to enter into occlusions (occlusion trials) or not (no occlusion trials). Tracking accuracy with 2-3 targets was ≥ 92% regardless of target occlusion but dropped to 74% on occlusion trials with four targets (no occlusion trials remained accurate; 83%). This pattern was mirrored in the frequency of rescue saccades. Rescue saccades accompanied approximatlely 50% of the Track 2-3 target occlusions, but only 34% of the Track 4 occlusions. Their frequency also decreased with increasing distance between a target and the nearest other object, suggesting that it is the potential for target confusion that summons a rescue saccade, not occlusion itself. These findings provide evidence for a tracking system that monitors for events that might cause track loss (e.g., occlusions) and requests help from the oculomotor system to resolve these momentary crises. As the number of crises increase with the number of targets, some requests for help go unsatisfied, resulting in degraded tracking.