Eva Berlot
Eva Berlot

Do we use our eyes to think?

Postdoctoral researcher Eva Berlot has been awarded a Veni grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to explore the role of eye movement in thought. This grant, awarded to promising early-career researchers, will support her research into the role of eye movements in cognitive processes such as thinking and conceptual understanding.

Eva Berlot’s research asks the question ‘Do we use our eyes to think?’ While it is well known that eye movements are essential for exploring the external visual world, her research aims to investigate whether eye movements are also connected to our internal cognitive processes, such as thinking and conceptual understanding. In everyday life, we move our eyes constantly, not only when we are looking around, but also when we are lost in thought. However, the reason why we continue to move our eyes even when not engaged with the visual world remains unclear.

Exploring the role of eye movements in thought

Berlot will conduct her research within the Predictive Brain Lab. She will delve into whether eye movements we produce during non-visual tasks, such as when listening to other people’s speech, are meaningful and if they contribute to cognitive functions like understanding speech. To explore this hypothesis, participants will listen to podcasts while their eye movements are tracked. By analysing eye movements during such non-visual tasks, Berlot hopes to determine whether they correspond to specific cognitive processes.

Additionally, Berlot will use artificial intelligence (AI) models, such as large language models, to quantify the evolving conceptual spaces in the narratives being heard. These models will help map the relationship between eye movements and the storyline, allowing researchers to assess whether the way our eyes move while we think reflects the mental processing of concepts and ideas.

What happens in the brain when we explore different ideas? One idea is that the parts of our brain used for seeing are also involved when we are just thinking. Just like our eyes focus on objects to see them better, moving our attention in our mind might help us understand ideas more clearly. Berlot will explore these ideas using brain scans and computer models to test how this works.

Potential Impact

This research will improve our understanding of the relationship between eye movements and cognition. A potential outcome is that our eyes are not just tools for visual perception but also play a key role in navigating our mental worlds. This could have implications for understanding how humans process information, both in everyday life and in more complex cognitive tasks. In development psychology, results of the study might offer insights into how children’s cognitive processes evolve. In clinical contexts, such as with patients experiencing cognitive decline, eye movements might be used to assess or even aid cognitive functioning when verbal communication is limited.

For now, the project is still about to start. Follow the Donders Institute’s news and social media channels for updates on this exciting research as it unfolds over the next three years.

Contact information

About person
Dr E. Berlot (Eva)