Page mode reading with simulated scotomas: a modest effect of interline spacing on reading speed

Abstract

Crowding is thought to be one potent limiting factor of reading in peripheral vision. While several studies investigated how crowding between horizontally adjacent letters or words can influence eccentric reading, little attention has been paid to the influence of vertically adjacent lines of text. The goal of this study was to examine the dependence of page mode reading performance (speed and accuracy) on interline spacing. A gaze-contingent visual display was used to simulate a visual central scotoma while normally sighted observers read meaningful French sentences following MNREAD principles. The sensitivity of this new material to low-level factors was confirmed by showing strong effects of perceptual learning, print size and scotoma size on reading performance. In contrast, reading speed was only slightly modulated by interline spacing even for the largest range tested: a 26% gain for a 178% increase in spacing. This modest effect sharply contrasts with the dramatic influence of vertical word spacing found in a recent RSVP study. This discrepancy suggests either that vertical crowding is minimized when reading meaningful sentences, or that the interaction between crowding and other factors such as attention and/or visuo-motor control is dependent on the paradigm used to assess reading speed (page vs. RSVP mode).