Movchan, Faya; (2025) The function of eye-movements in visual recognition memory. Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms of visual recognition memory is fundamental to exploring how we perceive and remember complex visual scenes. Traditionally, eye movements are viewed as responses to sensory input that enable detailed scene and object representation. However, recent studies suggest that some neural mechanisms may guide eye movements based on learned spatial relationships in visual recognition memory. This research aimed to investigate the role of eye movement patterns as a potential mechanism supporting recognition memory. To do this I focussed on sequential encoding-recollection similarity (SERS) across shape, direction, length, and position dimensions. Guided by a computational model proposing that grid-like coding in entorhinal cortex underlies spatial memory and eye movement, I developed a novel foveated vision paradigm, designed to produce distinct, measurable sequences of eye movements when looking for the missing object in an encoded array of five objects, without distraction from peripheral objects. I hypothesised that participants would produce similar scan-paths between encoding and retrieval phases of the memory task, with these similarities correlating positively with memory performance. Using permutation analyses, mixed effects models and correlational analyses, we found significant within-trial SERS. This was particularly strong in the position dimension, which was most strongly associated with accurate recall, suggesting that precise re-fixations on the location of specific object features can enhance recognition and reduce error in locating missing objects. Although other dimensions did not consistently show this effect on memory performance, great variability in shape similarity across participants suggests two distinct individual encoding strategies, emphasising the need for further investigation. Despite the limitations due to the small sample size, our findings highlight the role of eye movement reinstatements in memory recall, and show that the new paradigm offers a robust framework for future exploration into the neural basis of these eye movement patterns.

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