Direction Of Lateral Eye Movements Research Articles

Direction of lateral eye movements as an index of cognitive mode and emotion: A reappraisal

Three experiments were designed to determine the effects of cognitive and emotional questions on subjective ratings, lateral eye movement (LEM) incidence and LEM direction. Although the cognitive content of questions affected subjective ratings and the incidence of LEMs, emotional content had an effect only on subjective ratings. Neither cognitive nor emotional content influenced LEM direction. The results raise doubts about the sensitivity of LEM direction as an index of lateralized cerebral processing.

A Computerized Visual-Search Task as a Measure of Cerebral Dysfunction and Organization

This study examined differences in performance on a visual-search task between dysphonetic dyslexic children and three other groups of youngsters (other dyslexic, brain-damaged, and normals) on measures of cerebral dysfunction and cerebral organization. Subjects were required to match a centrally located design to an identical image, yielding a measure of cerebral dysfunction, i.e., latency. Cerebral organization of the diagnostic groups was studied by measuring the conjugate lateral eye movements of each child. Prior research suggests that initial direction of lateral eye movement on a cognitive task is indicative of lateralized cerebral activation. Analysis indicated that the dysphonetic dyslexics group, as predicted, differed significantly on latency from the normal and brain-damaged groups but not from the other dyslexic group. The dysphonetic dyslexic group differed significantly from all other groups on the measure of cerebral organization.

The Interaction of Hemispheric Related Strategies and Individual Differences in Learning

The present study examined both the theoretical and practical applications of the Lateral Eye Movements (LEM) in an educational setting. Normal fifth and sixth grade students were tested on their ability to recall and recognize word pairs before and after exposure either to a verbal rehearsal or to an imagery strategy. There was an interaction between the type of strategy taught and the predominant direction of LEM. Right movers showed a significant improvement using a verbal rehearsal strategy but no change using an imagery strategy. Left movers showed a significant improvement with an imagery strategy, but a significant decrease with a verbal rehearsal strategy. These results both verify the validity of LEM as an individual difference variable and provide an initial decision mechanism for choices involving educational strategies.

Task effects and individual differences in the study of lateral eye movements

Twenty-nine males and 29 females (all right-handed) participated in this study. The effects of question type (numerical, verbal, spatial) and experimenter position (in front of or behind the subject) on direction of lateral eye movements (LEMs) were tested. Also the relation between dominant LEM direction and other individual traits was investigated. The percentage of LEMs (tonic changes) as well as the first LEM (phasic changes) in the reflective period was scored. Results were identical for both methods; there were no task-specific effects demonstrated, nor was a relation found between dominant LEM direction and imagery, extraversion, neuroticism, sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and amount of somatic and psychic complaints. It appeared that the extent to which subjects gazed away varied with the amount of stress that was induced, while the direction of glance depended on the individual habit of the subject. The conclusion was that LEMs are subject specific rather than task specific and that this individual specificity is strengthened under stress conditions.

Field independence, lateralization and defensive style.

This study investigated the relationship between field independence and defense clustering as measured by the Defense Mechanisms Inventory and lateral eye movements. Subjects had previously been classified either as hysterical or obsessive style by the Rorschach and WAIS Comprehension subtest. Previous findings indicate that these subjects have a preferred direction of lateral eye movement in a questioning format (hysterical style = left; obsessive style = right). This study found no relationship between field independence and defense clustering and lateral eye movements. To the extent that eye gaze indexes hemispheric activation, we conclude that neither field independence nor defense clustering was related to hemispheric lateralization.

Lateral Eye Movements during Verbal and Nonverbal Dichotic Listening

A dichotic listening paradigm was used to study the relation of eye movement to cerebral lateralization. The eye movements of right-handed subjects were recorded during verbal and nonverbal dichotic-listening tasks. Subjects given a verbal dichotic-listening task made significantly more rightward than leftward eye movements and showed more accuracy and speed in processing information presented to the right than to the left ear. Subjects given a nonverbal dichotic-listening task made significantly more leftward eye movements and processed better information presented to the left ear. These findings suggest a potentially strong link between the direction of lateral eye movement during dichotic listening tasks and left- and right-ear advantages in performance on such tasks. They also suggest that both eye movement and ear performance may be related to cerebral laterality and when examined in combination both could provide valuable information for the further study of hemispheric specialization.

Lateral eye movement, handedness and sex.

Since Day ( 3 ) first described lateral eye movement, i.e., the lateral movement of the eyes in response to reflective questions, investigators (1, 2, 9 ) have reported differences in the cognitive abilities of consistent right and left movers which were in general agreement with the differences in ability associated with the functions of the left and right cerebral hemispheres (5, 7, 8 ) . Assuming the validity of the aforementioned relationship, it is surprising to note that both Bakan ( 1 ) and Ecaugh (4 ) reported that direction of lateral eye movement and handedness were unrelated. Further, apparently no one has reported a relationship between direction of lateral eye movemenr and sex. Since both handedness ( 5 ) and sex ( 6 ) have been associated with patterns of abilities that seem to be related to differential functioning of the cerebral hemispheres, it was thought that the relationships between direction of la:eral eye movement and both handedness and sex should be investigated. The subjects were 23 female and 15 male undergraduates, of which 21 considered themselves right-handed and 17 left-handed. Using Bakan's ( 1 ) criteria, 16 of these subjects showed strong right lateral eye movement and 22 showed strong left movement. Significant associations were found between direction of movemenr and both handedness and sex. Specifically 16 of 22 left-movers were right-handed and 1 1 of 16 right-movers were left-handed ( x a = 6.45, p < .025, Phi = .412). In addition, 10 of 16 right-movers were male and 17 of 22 left-movers were female ( X 2 = 6.13, p < .025, Phi = ,402). These findings should be interpreted as identifying variables which require attention in future research on lateral eye movements. If these data are supported, then perhaps previous relationships reported between lateral eye movements and patterns of ability should be reevaluated since these results may be confounded by handedness and/or sex.

Relationship between style of hypnotic induction and direction of lateral eye movements.

Relationship between style of hypnotic induction and direction of lateral eye movements.

Lateral eye movement and cognitive mode

The direction of lateral eye movement elicited by reflective questions is strongly modified by the cognitive demands of the question; verbal and arithmetical questions elicit more movements to the right than do spatial and musical questions. This is consistent with the lateral specialization of the human brain for these cognitive processes. These results support the hypothesis that the direction of the lateral eye movement indicates the activation of the contralateral cerebral hemisphere.

Lateral eye movements and reaction to persuasion.

The direction of lateral eye-movements upon inward direction of attention was related to reaction to persuasion. A predominance of left eye-movements was associated with more extreme reaction in either a pro or con direction, while right eye-movements were associated with more moderate reaction. Findings were discussed in terms of functional asymmetry of the brain.

Resting EEG alpha and asymmetry of reflective lateral eye movements.

A CONJUGATE lateral eye movement has been observed in humans in association with the shift from external to internal direction of attention1. When asked a question requiring reflexion (for example, mental arithmetic) an individual normally shifts his eyes either to the right or the left as he begins to reflect on an answer. It has been suggested that the direction of this lateral eye movement is related to a characteristic deployment of attention; left movers show a greater tendency to focus attention on internal subjective experiences, right movers show a greater tendency to external focus of attention2. It has been found that subjects who tend to move their eyes to the left are more likely to be hypnotizable3. Hypnotizability has also been shown to be related to amount of EEG alpha activity during an eyes-closed resting condition4,5. The relationship of both lateral direction of eye movements and amount of EEG alpha activity to hypnotizability seems to indicate the need for a study of the relationship between amount of resting EEG alpha activity and the direction of reflective lateral eye movements. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the tendency to move the eyes to the left is associated with more EEG alpha activity than is the tendency to move the eyes to the right.

Hypnotizability, laterality of eye-movements and functional brain asymmetry.

The direction of lateral eye-movements upon inward direction of attention or reflection is related to hypnotic susceptibility. A predominance of left eye-movements is associated with greater hypnotizability and also with humanistic interests, relatively poorer mathematical performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and clearer imagery. Results are discussed in terms of functional asymmetry of the brain.

Effect of intensity of auditory stimulation on directional eye movements in the human neonate

The present investigation of human neonatal functioning deals with the effect of locus and intensity of auditory stimulation as well as of level of arousal on the direction of lateral eye movement. Schneirla (1939, 1959) has suggested that in early ontogeny organisms respond in the direction of effectively weak and away from effectively strong stimuli. In order to determine whether infants turn their eyes towards an effectively weak stimulus and away from an effectively strong stimulus, fifty-three 2-day old female newborns were presented with twelve auditory stimuli (six to each ear) and directional eye movements were electromyographically recorded. One group was presented with a 66 dB stimulus (lower intensity), and another with an 87 dB stimulus (higher intensity). Within each group approximately half of the subjects were in a prefeeding (higher arousal level) and half in a postfeeding (lower arousal level) state. The lower level of arousal and the less intense stimulus each resulted in turning towards an auditory stimulus presented at the right ear. Effectively more intense stimulation (87 dB and high level of arousal) produced a reduction in the incidence of towards-turning. Stimulation at the left ear produced the opposite effect, i.e. to the effectively more intense stimulus a greater number of infants turned towards than away whereas for the less intense stimulus there was no systematic effect. These findings support the contention that directional responding is a function of effective stimulus intensity. They also suggest that the auditory thresholds differ for the two ears, with the thresold at the left ear being higher than that at the right. Taking this difference into account, the data fit the theoretical prediction at three of four points, i.e. no effect at a sub-threshold intensity (66 dB at the left ear), towards-turning to mild stimulation (66 dB at the right and 87 dB at the left ear), and mixed towards- and away-turning to more intense stimulation (87 dB at the right ear). Had a still more intense stimulus been utilized, the hypothesis might have been confirmed in its entirety.