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Visual exploration directionally modulates information flow between memory and visual brain systems

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Natalia Ladyka-Wojcik¹, Zhong-Xu Liu², Jennifer D Ryan^1,3; ¹Rotman Research Institute, ²University of Michigan-Dearborn, ³University of Toronto

Memory and gaze behavior are intricately linked, guiding one another to extract information and create mental representations of our environment for subsequent retrieval. Recent findings from functional neuroimaging and computational modeling suggest that reciprocal interactions between the extended hippocampal and visuo-oculomotor systems are functionally relevant for building these mental representations during visual exploration. Here, we expanded this work to investigate the directionality of information flow within this reciprocal architecture in humans. Specifically, we used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) for functional neuroimaging to provide a non-invasive account for the directional influences between these systems when new memories are created. By manipulating viewing instructions (free viewing versus maintaining fixation) during encoding, we demonstrated how unrestricted, naturalistic visual exploration enhances connectivity from lower-level visual regions to the medial temporal lobes, facilitating information flow for building memory representations. Subsequent memory retrieval performance was also predicted by the pattern of connectivity modulated by unrestricted visual exploration, identifying the mechanism underlying a rich history of previous work linking increased gaze behavior during encoding to later memory. Together, these findings suggest that gaze behavior shapes the ways in which brain dynamics within and between the hippocampal system and early visual cortex unfold during encoding in humans. Importantly, these directional interactions support the building of coherent, lasting mental representations.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic