Stationary and pursuit visual fixation share similar behavior

Stationary and pursuit fixation may involve different fixation mechanisms that are reflected by differences in saccadic reaction times (SRTs). Gap, Simultaneous, and Overlap interval paradigms provided three distinct SRT ranges for comparisons between these two viewing conditions. SRTs following pursuit fixation were longer than following stationary fixation, but were similarly affected by the interval paradigms. The SRT increase with smooth pursuit was largely explained by additional demands for programming oblique saccades. The paradigm dependent SRT relationships also persisted after timing cues were minimized. These results indicate that stationary and pursuit fixation have similar responses to different fixation paradigms and do not implicate the existence of multiple fixation processes.