Microscopic eye movements affect how we see contrast

A team of researchers has discovered how the brain uses tiny, unconscious eye movements to pick up differences in brightness.

Researchers have long known that the tiny eye movements—always jittering and taking in different points—continually change the signal to the retina and refresh the image so it does not fade. However, new research, which was funded by the National Eye Institute, the National Science Foundation, and the Harvard/MIT Joint Research Program, suggests that these movements do more than prevent fading; they are one of the very mechanisms by which the visual system functions.