Toronto, February 9, 2026 – A groundbreaking study from Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute suggests that eye movements, particularly saccades, play a crucial role in the process of memory retrieval. The findings, which offer fresh insights into the workings of memory and its potential changes due to brain diseases, were published in the journal Cognition.
The study reveals that eye movements increase just before individuals recall episodic details—such as sights, sounds, or feelings from past events—and decrease immediately afterward. This pattern was absent when participants recalled non-episodic information, such as general facts.
Unveiling the Memory Process
“By aligning eye movements with spoken recall on the order of milliseconds, we were able to see memory unfolding in real time,” explained Dr. Brian Levine, Senior Scientist at Baycrest and senior author of the study. “These findings show that eye movements are closely tied to the brain’s processing and reconstruction of visual and spatial memories from past events, not just a byproduct of remembering.”
The study involved 91 healthy young adults who participated in an audio-guided museum-style tour of artworks and installations at Baycrest. A week later, they recalled the tour while their eye movements were recorded using a video-based eye-tracking system. This innovative approach allowed researchers to synchronize each eye movement with the precise timing of spoken narrative details.
Key Findings and Implications
The analysis uncovered a notable pattern: episodic details were consistently preceded by a burst of eye movements and followed by a brief quieting of visual scanning before the next memory detail emerged. No such timing relationship was found for non-episodic content.
- Eye movements increased approximately half a second before participants recalled episodic, event-specific details, but not when recalling general or non-episodic information.
- Eye movements decreased in the period immediately following these specific details.
- The eye movement patterns suggest that visual exploration plays a key role in reconstructing real-life experiences.
Understanding these mechanisms could be pivotal in developing more sensitive tools for assessing brain health, particularly since autobiographical memory is often affected early in neurological conditions such as dementia.
Broader Applications and Future Research
“Natural, unconstrained behaviours like eye movements offer a promising window into cognitive function,” Dr. Levine noted. “Because they can be measured unobtrusively and repeatedly, they may eventually complement traditional memory assessments in both research and clinical settings.”
The research team also suggests that similar principles could apply beyond dementia. For instance, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves vivid and intrusive recollections of traumatic events, alongside changes in visual brain networks. Effective PTSD interventions aim to contextualize traumatic experiences and reduce the emotional impact of intrusive memories. Fine-grained behavioural analyses like those used in this study could help test and refine such interventions.
Looking ahead, the researchers emphasize the need for longitudinal studies to determine how eye-movement patterns change with normal aging and neurodegenerative disease, and whether they could serve as early markers of memory decline.
About Baycrest
This research was led by Ryan Barker, a PhD student at Baycrest and the University of Toronto, and Dr. Jennifer Ryan, Senior Scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is an internationally recognized academic health sciences organization based in Toronto, focused on aging and brain health.
Baycrest integrates a post-acute care hospital, long-term care, senior living, memory care, research, and education—supporting older adults, caregivers, and others on the journey of aging. This integrated ecosystem allows care, discovery, and learning to inform one another, improving lives today while shaping how aging is understood and supported tomorrow.
Guided by a vision of a world where every older person lives with purpose, fulfilment, and dignity, Baycrest translates knowledge into practice, advances specialized care, and shares its expertise with health systems, partners, and communities in Canada and around the world.
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