Control of memory retrieval alters memory-based eye movements.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Long-term memory influences eye movements in various tasks.
• Previous research indicates memory affects gaze, but intentional control's impact is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if memory-based eye movements persist under intentional retrieval control.
• To examine how regulating memory (retrieval, suppression, substitution) affects visual search and incidental object viewing.
• To determine if viewing patterns correlate with memory performance.

Main Methods:

• Participants encoded scenes with objects (faces, tools).
• A memory regulation task involved retrieving, suppressing, or substituting encoded items.
• Eye tracking monitored gaze during a subsequent visual search task with incidental object viewing.

Main Results:

• Recognition performance was impaired for suppressed tool-associate pairs.
• Incidental viewing of associates decreased with retrieval control.
• Objects from the non-associate category were highly viewed in the substitution condition.
• Viewing patterns in search correlated with recognition, with condition-dependent associations.

Conclusions:

• Eye movements are attracted to actively retrieved and maintained long-term memory information.
• Gaze patterns during visual search may indicate the representational strength of retrieved memories.
• Intentional memory control modulates eye movements and their relationship with memory outcomes.