RT Journal Article A1 Heeman, Jessica A1 Van der Stigchel, Stefan A1 Theeuwes, Jan T1 The influence of distractors on express saccades JF Journal of Vision JO Journal of Vision YR 2017 DO 10.1167/17.1.35 VO 17 IS 1 SP 35 OP 35 SN 1534-7362 AB It is well known that regular target-driven saccades are affected by the presence of close and remote distractors. Distractors close to the target affect the saccade landing position (known as the global effect), while remote distractors prolong saccade latencies to the target (known as the remote-distractor effect). Little is known about whether a different population of saccades known as express saccades (saccades with very short latencies between 80 and 130 ms) is similarly affected by close and remote distractors, as these saccades are considered to be the result of advanced preparation of an oculomotor program toward the target. We designed a task in which we were able to generate a large number of express saccades, as evidenced by a separate and very early peak in the saccade-latency distribution—a distribution that was different from that of regular saccades. Our results show that irrelevant and unexpected visual input had a large effect on express saccades. We found a global and a remote-distractor effect which were similar to those seen in regular saccades. Even though our findings confirm the existence of very-short-latency saccades in humans, it is questionable whether they represent a different population of saccades, as they were equally affected by the presence of distractors as are regular saccades. RD 2/27/2021 UL https://doi.org/10.1167/17.1.35