Autobiographical memories become less vivid and emotional after eye movements

Objectives. To test (1) whether eye movements during retrieval of emotional memories are followed by less vividness and less emotionality of future re collections, (2) whether this effect, if present, is stronger than the effe cts of a control activity (finger tapping), (3) whether the alleged effects of tapping and eye movements are stronger than a no-movement, control cond ition (mere imagery), (4) whether reductions in vividness and emotionality after eye movements (and finger tapping) are specific to negative memories or also occur in the case of positive memories. Method. Sixty healthy volunteers recalled either positive or negative memor ies and scored the vividness and emotionality of the recollections. Next, m emories were recalled whilst the participant was performing rapid eye movem ents, finger tapping, or not performing a dual task. Then participants were asked to recall the event again and to rate its vividness and emotionality . Results. Compared to finger tapping and the no-dual-task condition, recolle ctions after eye movements made future recollections less vivid. After eye movements, but not after the other interventions, negative memories became less negative, and positive memories became less positive. Conclusion. The findings show that eye movements not only reduce vividness and emotionality of memories during the eye moving, but also affect future recollections, during which no eye movements are made. Same theoretical exp lanations are discussed. As to clinical implications, it is suggested that if there is a role for eye-movement-based treatments, it is very limited.