Every time we look at an object or a picture, our eyes make tiny jumps called saccades, followed by brief pauses known as fixations.
These rapid movements are guided by the brain, helping us process visual information and navigate our surroundings.
Researchers from Canada and the Caribbean have found that these eye movements are closely linked to how we store and retrieve memories.
In people with healthy brain function, eye movements are flexible and exploratory.
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But for those experiencing memory difficulties, the movements become more rigid, repetitive, and predictable.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggests that this change in eye behavior may reflect early problems in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for forming new memories.
Analysing the eye movement
To explore this connection, scientists tracked the eye movements of more than 150 participants divided into five groups: young adults, older adults without neurological conditions, people with low cognitive test scores, patients with mild cognitive impairment, and individuals with severe memory loss or brain injury.
Each participant viewed over 100 images, some familiar and some new, while wearing a high-precision eye tracker.
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The researchers carefully analyzed how their gaze shifted across each image.
The results were striking. Young, healthy adults scanned the pictures widely, showing curiosity and variety in their gaze.
In contrast, those with reduced memory function repeatedly focused on the same areas, even when the images changed.
The more severe the cognitive decline, the less their eyes moved across the image.
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A new path for early diagnosis
The scientists believe these eye movement patterns could become a simple, non-invasive tool for detecting memory issues long before they appear in standard tests.
Traditional methods for diagnosing cognitive decline often require expensive brain scans or lengthy assessments.
This new approach might one day make it possible to identify risks of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease through a quick eye-tracking session.
By studying how we look at the world, doctors may soon gain a clearer view of how our minds are changing, long before the symptoms become visible.
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Sources: El Confidencial, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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