The ways our eyes explore surroundings change subtly with age and illness. New research suggests these patterns can reveal memory decline.
Researchers from Canada and the West Indies studied variations in eye movements among people with and without memory-related brain conditions. Their findings were published in PNAS.
How the Study Was Conducted
Participants included young and older adults, some with diagnosed cognitive impairments. Eye-tracking technology recorded how participants viewed images across two experiments.
Images were shown once and repeated to measure adaptation. Researchers observed how participants’ eyes scanned new scenes and whether patterns changed on repeated exposure.
Patterns Linked to Memory Decline
Individuals with poorer memory showed less exploratory eye movements. They focused repeatedly on the same areas, indicating less adaptive visual scanning.
Conversely, participants with stronger memory examined more of each image, displaying diverse gaze patterns across both new and repeated images.
Insights Into Brain Function
The study highlighted a connection between memory function and eye movement. While researchers did not identify a direct mechanism, prior studies link gaze behavior to the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center.
Reduced hippocampal activity could explain why people with cognitive decline exhibit repetitive, less varied visual exploration.
Potential for Early Detection
This research suggests eye-tracking could provide a simple, low-cost method for identifying early memory decline. This can be achieved without expensive brain scans or extensive questionnaires.
Natural gaze patterns may serve as a sensitive biomarker for dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. This could potentially enable earlier interventions and improved outcomes.
Implications for Future Research
Previous studies focused on pupil size or retinal changes. However, this study uniquely emphasizes how natural eye movements correlate with cognitive health across the aging spectrum.
By detecting subtle visual behavior changes, clinicians could gain new insights into memory loss. This would help develop preventative strategies for cognitive disorders.