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Human beings have the ability to recreate events in the mind's eye. We recall what we have seen more often, and in more detail than what we have heard. When we are trying to remember something or think of the answer to a difficult question, some people close their eyes while others look sideways or upwards, often without realising they are doing it. What is the reason for this? What do the eyes have to do with thinking or remembering? Research conducted as far back as 50 years ago as well as more recently, found that eye movement is vital to memory recall. It was reported that we move our eyes not only to receive visual input but also to bring to mind information stored in memory. Even when our eyes have long stopped seeing a particular image, they play an important role in memorising and remembering the image later on. When we create a detailed mental image of a past event, not only do our eyes move in the same way as when we first saw the image but our brains, too, are activated in the same way. When the image or experience is recalled, it is a condensed version of the original image or experience, as though it is being experienced in a much shorter time frame. We can only process information from a small part of our visual field at a time. We overcome this limitation by constantly shifting our focus of attention through eye movements. These are fixations, brief moments of focus that allow us to sample visual information, and saccades, rapid movements from one fixation point to another. Although only a limited amount of information can be processed at each fixation point, a sequence of eye movements organises and assembles visual details, allowing us to create a visual memory as a whole. |
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When our eyes are open, the areas of the brain that are involved in vision are constantly receiving input from the eyes, and this input keeps those areas busy, distracting us from accessing a memory. Consequently, when we have to answer a difficult question or think about a visual memory from the past, we either close our eyes or look upwards to help us to disengage from the constant bombardment of information. In a study, 60 participants were shown images of scenes and objects, such as a cityscape and vegetables on a kitchen counter. After a short break, they were asked to recall the images as thoroughly as possible while looking at a blank screen. They were asked to select the correct image from a set of highly similar images. Using state-of-the-art eye tracking techniques the researchers measured participants' eye movement sequences, both when they inspected the images and when they recalled them. It was found that eye movements during memory retrieval was connected to the quality of participants' remembering. |
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Next time you are trying to remember where you left your keys, close your eyes or look at the ceiling. This will block out distractions and visual interference and free up mental resources, making them more available for memory retrieval |
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