Horizontal but not vertical saccades enhance memory retrieval: a meta-analysis and systematic review

摘要: BACKGROUND: Saccade-induced retrieval enhancement (SIRE) refers to the phenomenon that active engaging of horizontal eye movements before recall would enhance subsequent memory performance. This effect is generally thought to be the result of interhemispheric interaction stimulated by saccades. Nonetheless, recent findings do not fully support this hypothesis. An alternative explanation is that saccades promote memory retrieval by improving top-down attention control. Thus, the mechanisms of SIRE are unclear, the present meta-analysis quantitatively analyzed the effect of saccades on memory performance and examined the mechanisms of SIRE through moderator analysis. METHODS: We searched "Web of Science", "PubMed", and "Springer" for peer reviewed papers using the keywords "eye movements + memory" and "saccades + memory". Twenty-two papers were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: There was a significant facilitation of horizontal saccades on overall memory performance, with a pooled effect size (Cohen’s d) of 0.45 (p < 0.001). However, the overall effect of vertical saccades was not significant (d = 0.1, p = 0.14). Moderation analysis showed that the handedness of participants was a significant moderator of the SIRE, with strongly right-handed individuals benefited more from horizontal saccades than non-strongly right-handed individuals (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Horizontal saccades improved memory performances, particularly for the strongly right-handed individuals, these results support the interhemispheric interaction hypothesis.