Add BrightSurf on Google Email

Brain adapts to give deaf people a better visual ‘danger radar’

Research found that the brains of deaf individuals redistribute neural resources to prioritize peripheral vision, enabling them to detect movement and events outside their central field of view. This adaptation allows deaf adults to excel at monitoring their surroundings, potentially providing an advantage in detecting danger.

SourceUniversity of Sheffield·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeObservational study·DateSep 17, 2026

Uncovering structural cue use in second-language sentence processing

A study led by Waseda University's Associate Professor Chie Nakamura investigated how listeners interpret structurally ambiguous sentences using eye-tracking technology. The researchers found that listeners actively build sentence structure in real-time, predicting how the sentence will continue before all information is available.

SourceWaseda University·JournalFrontiers in Language Sciences·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 19, 2026

This self-powered eye tracker harnesses energy from blinking and is as comfortable as everyday glasses

Researchers developed a lightweight, self-powered eye-tracking system that runs off the energy generated through blinking. The system detects eye movements with high precision and can be used to enable people with mobility impairments such as ALS to control wheelchairs or communicate by moving only their eyes.

SourceCell Press·JournalCell Reports Physical Science·TypeExperimental study·DateJan 7, 2026

USC study: mindfulness meditation can sharpen attention in adults of all ages

A new study from the University of Southern California reveals that just 30 days of guided mindfulness meditation can significantly enhance key aspects of attentional control. The study demonstrates that even short-term meditation can lead to measurable cognitive improvements, particularly in reaction speed.

SourceUniversity of Southern California·JournaleNeuro·TypeRandomized controlled/clinical trial·DateJul 8, 2025

Seeing well-designed gardens could relax us almost immediately because we look at them differently

A team of researchers investigated the impact of Kyoto's Murin-an garden on viewers' relaxation. They found a correlation between rapid gaze shifts and reduced stress levels. The design features of the well-crafted Japanese garden led to frequent, rapid horizontal shifts in gaze, which induced a calming effect.

SourceFrontiers·JournalFrontiers in Neuroscience·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 15, 2025

Hidden potential in multiple disabilities

A UNIGE team used eye-tracking to improve social and emotional skills in nine young people with multiple disabilities. The personalized training showed promising results, enabling these individuals to exhibit visual preferences and strengthen certain socio-emotional skills.

SourceUniversité de Genève·JournalActa Psychologica·TypeNews article·DateApr 10, 2025

New 3D technology paves way for next-generation eye-tracking

Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a new 3D imaging technique, deflectometry, paired with advanced computation to improve eye-tracking accuracy. The method can capture gaze direction information from more than 40,000 surface points, theoretically millions, increasing accuracy by a factor of over 3,000 compared to c...

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 1, 2025

Hunger shifts attention towards less healthy food options

A new study reveals how hunger influences dietary decisions by prioritizing tastiness over healthiness, leading to poorer nutritional choices. Researchers used eye-tracking technology and computational modeling to demonstrate that hungry individuals focus more on the visual appeal of food options and ignore nutritional information.

SourceeLife·JournaleLife·DateMar 25, 2025

Attention can be used to drive cooperation – new study

Researchers at the University of Birmingham discovered that presenting information in areas where participants are naturally drawn to it can influence cooperative choices. This is particularly effective when cooperation information is placed at the bottom of the screen, contrary to natural reading patterns.

SourceUniversity of Birmingham·JournalCommunications Psychology·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 17, 2025

Study finds people prefer AI chatbots when discussing embarrassing health info — but humans when they are angry

A recent study from the University of Kansas found that people tend to prefer AI chatbots when discussing sensitive or embarrassing topics like health information, due to their anonymity and nonjudgmental nature. However, when individuals are angry, they still prefer human interaction.

SourceUniversity of Kansas·JournalInternational Journal of Human-Computer Interaction·TypeRandomized controlled/clinical trial·DateFeb 24, 2025

Follow the fish's gaze

Researchers developed a new technology to track the eye movements of free-swimming fish in 3D, without invasive methods. The method analyzes video recordings to reconstruct the fish's 3D body posture, eye position, and retinal view, providing insights into their collective behavior.

SourceUniversity of Konstanz·JournalCommunications Biology·DateFeb 10, 2025

Newly devised covert eye tracking “CovET” system succeed in measuring visual recognizability of Saizeriya logo

A new covert eye-tracking system, CovET, has been developed to evaluate visual recognizability of brand logos in peripheral visual fields. The study found that participants could recognize the Saizeriya logo even when it was presented outside their line of gaze, indicating higher visual recognizability on covert attention.

SourceChuo University·JournalInternational Journal of Affective Engineering·TypeExperimental study·DateOct 18, 2024

Improving eye tracking to assess brain disorders

A University of Houston team developed non-invasive, comfortable, and safe wearable sensors to monitor eyeball movements, providing early warning signs of brain-related disorders. The new sensors have potential applications in diagnosing conditions like ADHD, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and traumatic brain injuries.

SourceUniversity of Houston·JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials·DateSep 16, 2024

Closed eye imaging can track wakefulness, awareness, and pain in unresponsive conditions such as sleep, anesthesia, and intensive care

A breakthrough technology allows for touchless infrared imaging to monitor changes in pupil size and gaze direction behind closed eyes. This innovation can help identify wakefulness, awareness, and pain in sleep, anesthesia, and intensive care, enabling more accurate clinical decision-making.

SourceTel-Aviv University·JournalCommunications Medicine·DateSep 8, 2024

More evidence on the dangerous attitudes of men who ogle

A new Edith Cowan University study found that men who frequently stare at women's bodies are more likely to harbor harmful attitudes and exhibit behaviors that may lead to sexual assault. The study validates the 'pervasive body gaze scale' as a reliable marker for sexual objectification and assault propensity.

SourceEdith Cowan University·JournalArchives of Sexual Behavior·TypeObservational study·DateAug 7, 2024

The eyes have it: Visual inspection experience essential for airport security screening

Researchers studied airport security screeners' performance using eye-tracking technology, finding that less experienced screeners rely on slower and weaker strategies. The study suggests that training is essential for critical safety tasks like x-ray screening, and that expertise can be developed in six months of on-the-job experience.

SourceQueensland University of Technology·JournalApplied Ergonomics·TypeObservational study·DateJul 17, 2024

Creativity starts in the cradle, new research shows

A study published in PNAS found that infants less than a year old can combine novel words describing quantities with familiar words to understand phrases. This ability helps them interpret language input and learn about the world, laying the foundation for human creativity.

SourceUniversity of Birmingham·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 10, 2024

How does social attention develop in autistic children?

Research reveals that autistic children develop their own unique visual preferences for social elements, unlike typically developing children who synchronize their attention on social interactions. Early intervention targeting social attention may help guide autistic children onto developmental courses more akin to their peers.

SourceUniversité de Genève·JournaleLife·TypeNews article·DateJan 11, 2024

Move over dolphins. Chimps and bonobos can recognize long-lost friends and family — for decades

Researchers found that great apes and chimpanzees can recognize groupmates they haven't seen in over two decades, suggesting a shared common ancestor and potentially the longest-lasting nonhuman memory. The study uses infrared eye-tracking cameras to record participants' gazes at images of familiar and stranger bonobos or chimps.

SourceUniversity of California - Berkeley·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeObservational study·DateDec 18, 2023

New driver training developed at Cincinnati Children’s keeps teens with ADHD safer behind the wheel

A new driver training program has been shown to reduce the frequency of long, distracted glances away from the road among teen drivers with ADHD. The FOCAL+ training program improved teen drivers' attention to the roadway and reduced crash risk by 40% compared to a control group.

SourceCincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center·JournalNew England Journal of Medicine·TypeObservational study·DateDec 1, 2022

Eye-movement tracking glasses are used to evaluate mental stress in first naturalistic study of critical care nurses

A naturalistic study using eye-tracking technology found that intensive care unit nurses experience a higher level of mental workload, especially during the start of shifts, with shorter fixation and more sporadic gaze behavior in stressed nurses.

SourceRensselaer Polytechnic Institute·JournalHuman Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society·DateMay 31, 2022

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him...

Researchers at Kyoto University found that chimpanzees exhibit a preference for faces and skulls of their own species, similar to previous studies with African elephants. This suggests the presence of a face module in chimpanzee brains that detects and processes facial cues.

SourceKyoto University·JournalRoyal Society Open Science·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 6, 2022

Those who ogle also more likely to have harmful attitudes

A new study from Edith Cowan University found that excessive body gaze is linked with harmful attitudes towards sexual assault. Men who showed strong preferences for gazing at women's bodies were more likely to assume women invite or tolerate rough sexual conduct, while women did not show body gaze preferences.

SourceEdith Cowan University·JournalArchives of Sexual Behavior·TypeObservational study·DateMar 30, 2022

What lies behind a baby’s eyes

Researchers studied 100 babies' eye movements and brain activity to reveal that by 4 months, they can categorize objects into animate or inanimate groups. This ability emerges early, with refined categories appearing between 10-19 months.

SourceCNRS·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateFeb 16, 2022