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Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory
Published on: August 15, 2010
Why do we move our eyes while trying to remember? The relationship between non-visual gaze patterns and memory.
Dragana Micic1, Howard Ehrlichman, Rebecca Chen
1Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), Flushing, NY 11357, USA. dmicic@nyc.rr.com
Brain and Cognition
|September 25, 2010
Summary
Non-visual gaze patterns (NVGPs) change with cognitive task demands. Eye movement rate was higher in long-term memory tasks than working memory tasks, suggesting NVGPs are linked to memory processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Experimental Psychology
Background:
- Non-visual gaze patterns (NVGPs) are spontaneous eye movements during non-visual cognitive tasks.
- The functional significance and determinants of NVGPs remain largely unknown.
- Previous research suggests NVGPs may vary with task demands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between NVGPs and memory systems (long-term memory [LTM] and working memory [WM]).
- To explore the functional role of saccades in LTM tasks.
- To propose a neuroanatomical model linking saccadic and memory systems.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Compared eye movement rate (EMR) in LTM search versus WM maintenance tasks.
- Experiment 2: Used the levels of processing paradigm to manipulate item accessibility in episodic memory tasks.
- Experiment 3: Employed voluntary saccadic suppression during LTM tasks to assess saccade functionality.
Main Results:
- EMR was significantly higher during LTM search compared to WM maintenance.
- EMR remained high in episodic recall regardless of item accessibility.
- Saccadic suppression did not impair LTM task performance.
Conclusions:
- NVGPs, specifically eye movement rate, appear sensitive to memory processing demands.
- Spontaneous saccades in LTM tasks may be epiphenomenal, not directly contributing to performance.
- A neuroanatomical link between the saccadic and memory systems is proposed.
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