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Abstract

Moving the eyes enables the selection of relevant information from the external visual world. Besides moving the eyes, humans and many other species also have the capability to 'look out of the comer of their eyes'. For in stance, we can attend to a pencil located in the periphery, while keeping our eyes fixated at a TV screen in front of us. A metaphor that seems suitable for this 'attending to something' is the inner eye. Several issues are addressed. First, some experiments will be reported that demonstrate the existence of this inner eye. In addition, a distinction will be made between two ways in which the inner eye can be controlled. Third, we will focus on the areas of the brain that are affected by moving the inner eye, and will also indicate the brain areas that probably play a role in the control of the inner eye. Finally, we will focus on experimental support with regard to the function that this inner eye serves. that is, one may wonder whether the function of this inner eye is simply a duplication of the function of the external eye, or does it serve another function?