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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.04.707660

Gaze and perception covary with reading direction

Hussain, Z.·Safa, R.·Kouzy, R.·Besle, J.
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Abstract

Human observers prioritise the left visual field in perceptual judgements, a phenomenon widely attributed to cerebral asymmetries in vision. How stable are these mechanisms across differences in reading direction? We show that the classic left-side bias for faces is correlated with reading direction and tightly linked to gaze. Observers with varying proficiency in reading English (left-to-right) and Arabic (right-to-left) performed a chimeric face matching task (N = 271), with eye movements recorded in a subset (N = 115). The left-side bias scaled linearly with reading direction: strongest in English readers, reduced in bidirectional readers, and absent in Arabic readers. Reading direction also shifted gaze: English readers fixated further left on target faces and preferentially inspected faces in the left hemifield, and these gaze patterns predicted trial-by-trial perceptual judgements. These results suggest that cerebral asymmetries in face perception are flexible, coupled to gaze, and modified by reading direction.

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Hussain, Z., Safa, R., Kouzy, R., Besle, J.. 2026-03-05. Gaze and perception covary with reading direction. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.04.707660

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