The effects of onset and offset warning and post-target stimuli on the saccade latency of children and adults

Two studies, involving children (mean age = 10 years) and adults, investigated the effects of visual stimulus onsets and offsets on the latency of saccades to peripheral targets. Saccade latency was reduced when foveal stimulus onsets or offsets preceded the target. When stimulus onset occurred 100 msec after target onset, the stimulus interfered with responding, with this interference effect significantly greater for children than for adults. When stimuli were presented in the peripheral visual field facilitation and interference effects were similar for children and adults. These results were interpreted as indicating that oculomotor processes are similar in children and adults while the stimulus intake processes that follow stimulus onset at the point of fixation have a greater interference effect on children's than on adults' eye movements.