Sleep deprivation (not sleep) facilitates short latency saccades: an exceptional example of unconscious procedural learning

Introduction: Saccades are visually triggered gaze shifts. Several cortical processing steps have to take place before the motor command is transferred to the brainstem and the eye muscles. The frequency distribution of saccadic reaction times shows at least two peaks: a narrow peak of short latency saccades (express saccades, 100–130ms) and a broader peak with regular saccades (about 180ms). For express saccades it is assumed that one processing step (the disengagement of attention) has already elapsed when the saccade target occurs. Furthermore, it is known that learning of express saccades builds up within da…