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Time of India
28-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Can your eyes reveal how sharp your memory is? New study shows how pupil movements uncover truth and falsehood
Have you ever found yourself locked in a debate over who said what, only to end it with a frustrated 'I know I remember it right'? Well, according to science, your pupils might have the final say in who's telling the truth. In a fascinating new study out of Hungary, researchers have uncovered a link between the size of your pupils and the accuracy of your memories. It's not just about whether something seems familiar — your eyes may actually betray just how detailed and truthful your recollection really is. And the implications go far beyond simple memory games. Memory, Misfires, and the Pupil Test From mistakenly believing you locked the door to vividly 'remembering' childhood moments that never happened, false memories are part of everyday life. According to a report from the Daily Mail , now, researchers at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics are turning back the clock to a theory from the 1970s to give us a clearer picture — quite literally — of how memories are stored and retrieved. They studied 28 participants and gave them 80 uncommon words to memorize. Later, participants were shown a mix of old and new words and were asked to identify the ones they had seen before — all while their pupils were being tracked. The results were astonishing: people's pupils dilated when they recognized a previously seen word. Even more compelling, the dilation was more pronounced when they remembered the word's original position on the screen with greater accuracy. This phenomenon, known as the pupil old/new effect , had already been observed before. But this new research adds a fresh layer: not only does pupil size reveal recognition, it also appears to reflect how precisely a memory is recalled. Your Eyes, Your Brain, Your Truth Lead researcher Ádám Albi explains that two levels of memory might be reflected in our eyes — the first is simply recognizing something as familiar, and the second is about how clearly we remember the surrounding details. You Might Also Like: Brain expert reveals the one diet change that can boost memory and focus This two-tiered response may be linked to the locus coeruleus–noradrenergic system in the brain, which governs attention and is known to trigger pupil dilation . In essence, the more vivid and accurate your memory, the more your brain lights up — and the wider your pupils grow. Why does this matter? In contexts like therapy, memory-related disorders, or even courtroom testimony, understanding the quality of a memory could offer a more reliable insight into someone's state of mind — or the truth of what they claim to remember. Forget Me Not: How to Erase a Bad Memory But what about the memories we wish we could forget? While your pupils might help reveal your mental scrapbook, scientists are also finding ways to help you edit it. A separate study from Dartmouth and Princeton in 2020 suggests that people can intentionally flush out unwanted memories by altering the context in which they are recalled. For example, if a song reminds you of heartbreak, listening to it in a happy or neutral environment — say, while working out or getting ready for a party — can overwrite the emotional imprint. You Might Also Like: U.S. military veteran got world's first eye transplant an year ago, opening new possibilities. But there's a catch If a horror scene from a movie keeps you up at night, watch it during the day, or mute the volume and overlay it with a comedy track. Your brain, it turns out, is highly suggestible when it comes to forming new emotional associations. Memory Is More Than a Mental File Cabinet This new wave of research proves that our minds are far more fluid than we often realize. The eyes may no longer just be the window to the soul — they're turning out to be the mirror to the mind, reflecting not just what we remember, but how well we remember it. So, next time someone insists they're right about that dinner party four years ago — maybe take a good look into their eyes. The truth might be hiding in plain sight.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Your eyes can reveal the accuracy of your memories
We like to think our brains are reliable recorders—but reality says otherwise. From misremembered childhood moments to mistakenly 'recalling' that you took your pills when you didn't, false memories are surprisingly common. And in high-stakes situations like courtroom testimony, these errors can have devastating consequences. Wouldn't it be amazing if there were an objective way to measure just how accurate someone's memory really is? New research suggests we might be able to do just that—by watching the eyes. Scientists have known since the 1960s that our pupils tend to widen when we're thinking hard—whether we're remembering something, solving a problem, or paying close attention. But those early studies mostly looked at short-term memory, so it wasn't clear whether the same effect applied to long-term recall. Then came a curious discovery in the 1970s: people's pupils also dilated when they recognized something they'd seen before. This phenomenon, called the 'pupil old/new effect,' has since been confirmed in multiple experiments. But recent research has taken this a step further, suggesting that pupil dilation may not just reflect whether something feels familiar, but also how clearly and precisely it's remembered. In a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, researchers Ádám Albi and Péter Pajkossy from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics set out to test this idea. They recruited 28 volunteers in Hungary and asked them to study 80 two- or three-syllable words that are infrequently used in the Hungarian language. The words were presented to the participants on a screen at a specific point along the edge of an invisible circle. Later, participants were shown a mix of old and new words, this time centered on the screen. For each word they recognized, they were asked to recall where it had originally appeared. While participants responded, the researchers tracked their pupil size. The results were striking. When people recognized a word they'd seen earlier, their pupils dilated—and the effect was more pronounced when participants could precisely remember the word's original location. Even when people weren't sure where on the screen they had seen the word before but recognized the word as familiar, their pupils still dilated more than when they saw a brand-new word. This suggests our eyes reflect two layers of memory: a general sense of familiarity, and the precision of specific details, Albi tells Popular Science. So, what's actually going on inside the brain? 'To date, there is no consensus on the precise cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms that drive pupil responses during different forms of memory retrieval, such as recognition,' Albi says. But one leading theory centers on the concept of attentional salience—how much something grabs our focus. A vivid memory might not just come to mind; it demands attention. That memory could trigger activity in a region of the brain called the locus coeruleus–noradrenergic system, which regulates attention. When activated, this system also causes the pupils to dilate. This growing understanding opens up some exciting possibilities. 'Pupil dilation could serve as a non-invasive marker of memory quality in settings such as education, clinical assessment, or legal testimony—especially when evaluating the depth or reliability of someone's memory,' Mohamed El Haj, a neuropsychologist and professor at the University of Nantes in France, who was not involved in the study, tells Popular Science. And because pupil measurement is noninvasive, cost-effective, and methodologically simpler than other brain analysis techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or electroencephalogram (EEG), as Albi points out, it holds real promise for widespread use. Imagine being able to gauge the reliability of an eyewitness just by tracking their pupils. That future may not be far off.
