Can Your Eyes Predict Your Memory?

PAC Gym

Is it possible to predict how well someone will remember something just by looking at their eyes? We think so! To form long term memories, the brain must go through a period of memory consolidation, during which newly formed memories are stabilized and converted into a more permanent form of storage. Previous research, including recent work from our own laboratory, suggests that periods of quiet waking rest following learning can facilitate memory consolidation. However, quiet rest is not a homogenous state, and to date has not been well defined in the psychological literature. Emerging evidence suggests that fast changes in pupil diameter indicate neuromodulatory changes in the brain that should affect memory. The current pilot study used a new pupil measurement device to assess the relationship between moment-to-moment changes in pupil size and memory for verbal information.We hypothesized that memory for information presented just prior to periods of decreased pupil diameter, which corresponds with decreased attention to the external environment, will correspond with improved recall for that information.