It is clear that there is a close relation between eye movement and memory. By knowing whether someone is recalling memory accordingly when mentalists lead them through the conversation, mentalists can tell whether the mentioned themes or ideas are true for the target’s personal history. However, whether eye movement is a good tool of mind-reading, especially whether it’s a good indicator of lie-detecting, is still controversial.

 

We will begin by discussing the relation between eye movement and memory processing suggested by various studies. Eye movement cues are results of memory retrieval, contrarily, it is believed that we use specific eye movements to help us recall our memory in different ways. Firstly, remember the looking all around when you are having a telephone conversation? In fact we all have tendency to stare at blank space, space without valuable visual information, when we try to recall our memory. This is called non-visual gaze patterns (NVGP) (Papesh, 2012). Although these eye fixations are not informative, they allow us to coordinate mental representations (Papesh, 2012; Spivey & Geng, 2001; Theeuwes, Belopolsky & Olivers, 2009). It was proposed that it is the frequency of saccadic eye movements rather than the direction of voluntary eye movements that indicate memory processing (Papesh, 2012). However, we will also introduce systems of eye movement cues related to directional eye movements 

 

In different study, the relation between bilateral eye movement and episodic memory studied. According to brain activity measures using electroencephalograph (EEG), it seems that processing of episodic memory, memory related to our experiences, involves activation of both hemispheres of our brain; while processing of semantic memory, memory related to concepts and facts, involve activation within the left hemisphere (Christman, Garvey, Propper & Phaneuf, 2003). According to this study, the activation of both hemispheres at equal levels through bilateral eye movements can enhance retrieval of episodic memory. This may also relate to the interhemisphere EEG measurements during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, where rapid eye movement is recorded and REM sleep is the widely suggested stage of sleep responsible for memory consolidation (Christman, Garvey, Propper & Phaneuf, 2003). Moreover, some suggest that we have specific eye movements during memory retrieval because these movements are to reinstate the similar condition in which this piece of memory was encoded (Papesh, 2012).

 

On the other hand, there is one well-known set of eye movement patterns, suggested by Neuro-linguistics Programming (NLP), that is suggested to be an indicator of whether someone is lying. NLP, created in the 1970’s, is a collection techniques and approaches that aims to improve interpersonal communication and fields related to psychotherapy. The set of specific eye movement patterns is believed to indicate retrieval of different types of memory and creation of mental representations (Burik, 1994, Dilts, 1998). We will briefly introduce the NLP eye movement cues and their meaning below. However, it is important to note that, there is still much controversy about the experimental evidence for this system. There is not yet a solid systematic categorization of what eye movement patterns relate to different types of memory since and future research is required. According to the NLP for a right-handed person (accounting for approximately 80% of the population), (1) eye movement to the top-left corresponds to the retrieval of visual memory, (2) eye movement to the top-right corresponds to the creation of visual memory, (3) eye movement to the left indicates retrieval of audio memory, (4) eye movement to the right indicates for creation of audio memory, (5) eye movement to the bottom left means the subject is interacting with his or her own internal voice, and (6) eye movement to the bottom right means the subject is thinking of kinesthetic information and emotions; where the left and right directions would be reversed for subjects that are left-handed. (Carollo, 2012; Jay, 2003; Dilts, 1998) It was suggested that NLP can be applied when interrogating officers question suspects and criminals (Jay, 2003). The corresponding article for this comment also explains how the officer can organize his use of language and make adjustments to his posture according to the change in eye movements of the subjects throughout the police interrogation process (Jay, 2003). For example, if the suspect seems to prefer using visual mode of communication, words like ‘look’, ‘see’, ‘observe’ may evoke more related memory; if auditory mode of communication is preferred, words like ‘listen’, ‘say’ and ‘hear’ may help the interrogation process; and words such as ‘feel’, ‘move’ and ‘catch’ might be useful if the kinesthetic communication is preferred. It is also important to keep in mind that there is an assumption here where the creation of visual and audio memory corresponds to lying.

 

By contrast, many studies have experimental results that suggest eye movement is not an indicator for lie detection (Carollo, 2012). However, despite the fact that these experimental results show no relation between eye movement and retrieval of memory, their conclusions do not fully rule out all possibilities of meaning behind eye movement patterns. Further research is required to draw more solid conclusions about the validity of using eye movement cues as indicators for memory processing of the subject (Ahmad, 2013). There is also potential that the eye movement measures and brain activity measures using EEG do not fully represent the actual electro-ocular activity of the subject. Although there is much controversy concerning the scientific proof of the indication of eye movements, observing eye movements is still commonly mentioned in a lot of mentalism, or mind-reading, websites and articles.

 

Are mentalists actually looking for eye movement cues when reading your mind? Or are they just telling you that to affect your physical responses? This is a battle of minds.