Humans are not like a computer, as they do not only store information but emotions as well. The same is true when we pay attention to our surroundings; gaze is directed quickly based on our emotional responses. Scientists call this emotional context. For example, when you hear something that sparks fear, your pupils dilate and you direct your sight toward the direction of the sound, or you may look right and left and look behind, or up and down. This eye movement is called saccadic eye movement. Even when we do not feel that movement while it is happening, when we look at a stationary object, we scan it with saccadic movement as the eye moves up, down, right, and left while exploring the object. This relationship between emotional context and saccadic eye movement is an essential part of the way we perceive the world. But in this mechanism, there may also be a secret that can help us process our feelings toward things that happened in the past and still hurt us.

When we follow the nerves that lead both rapid eye movement and the retrieval of emotional context, we find that both of these meet in a part known as the amygdala. The amygdala is known to scientists for its role in processing emotional responses, i.e., what we feel or what emotion we respond with when we see something, for example. It is also an important part of processing memories and making decisions. The amygdala consists of two lobes in each of the right and left sides of the brain.

To explore that relationship, a group of scientists conducted an experiment on monkeys[1]. The scientists injected a substance that inhibits one of the amygdala lobes, right or left, and they found first what they expected, which is the stopping of saccadic eye movement in the opposite direction of the amygdala lobe that was deactivated. The deactivation was only temporary. Scientists looked at information from previous research that the amygdala controls gazing and saccadic movement through its control of the signal coming out of the basal ganglia, which is an area near the amygdala and is primarily responsible for the movement of the eyes.

The amygdala is not a main part of the brain areas that direct eye movement, but those signals pass through it even in the blind people.[2] This intervention from the amygdala occurs specifically to bring emotional context information, while the basal ganglia bring information related to the object being looked at. Scientists have found that the emotional stimulation of the monkeys in the experiment was linked to the activation of the amygdala and that the activation of eye movement can occur through the amygdala in cases where an emotional context is present. Scientists found, for example, that there is more activity in the amygdala and in eye movement when monkeys were exposed to a scene with some danger compared to the state of safety.

From here, we move to an important principle of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the leading scientific psychological approach for helping people improve their mood and mental health. The principle states that there is a relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Thoughts generate feelings, which in turn generate behaviors. The behavior then reinforces the thoughts, creating a cycle. One goal of CBT is to break this cycle at one of these three points to reverse its effects [3].

Many CBT studies examine the reduction of stimulation in areas responsible for threat feelings, such as the amygdala, when performing actions that lower the sense of threat. Other studies have proven the reverse: a decrease in the sense of threat, and subsequently a decrease in anxiety or fear regarding certain thoughts, as a result of left-to-right saccadic eye movements.

In another experiment, scientists found that amygdala activity was inhibited during rapid eye movements [4]. This reinforces the role of behavior in reducing emotional intensity and, consequently, reducing the impact of the thought that triggered the fear in the first place.

While these neurological studies provide a gateway to understanding more about the role of eye movement in memory processing, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been active for decades. Its effectiveness has been proven through numerous studies, independent of the exact internal mechanism.

Imagine being able to remember something that causes you pain every time, but by moving your eyes rapidly left and right while recalling that same memory, it becomes painless. This is not fiction; it is a reality and a therapeutic method applied worldwide. Humanity does not need to remain on the same path of suffering.

References

 [1] Maeda, Kazutaka, et al. “Primate amygdalo-nigral pathway for boosting oculomotor action in motivating situations.” Iscience 23.6 (2020).

[2] Burra, Nicolas, et al. “Amygdala activation for eye contact despite complete cortical blindness.” Journal of Neuroscience 33.25 (2013): 10483-10489.

[3] Applying the CBT Model of Emotions, cogbtherapy.com

[4] de Voogd, Lycia D., et al. “Eye-movement intervention enhances extinction via amygdala deactivation.” Journal of Neuroscience 38.40 (2018): 8694-8706.