Microsaccadic and pupillary response to tactile task difficulty

Abstract

The research goal is to explore the relationship between eye tracking measures and a tactile version of the n-back task. The n-back task is often used to evoke cognitive load, however this is the first study that incorporates tactile stimulus as input. The study follows a within-subject design with easy and difficult experimental conditions. In the tactile n-back task, each participant will be asked to identify the number of pins felt under the fingertips. In the easy condition, each participant will then be asked to respond if a number shown on the computer screen is congruent with the number of recognized pins. In the difficult condition, each participant will be asked to refer to the pin number in the current trial and the previous trial. Microsaccades and pupil dilation will be recorded during the top-down process of performing the n-back task.