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Saccades and Blinks Index Cognitive Demand during Auditory Noncanonical Sentence Comprehension.

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Title: Saccades and Blinks Index Cognitive Demand during Auditory Noncanonical Sentence Comprehension.
Authors: LaCroix, Arianna N. (AUTHOR), Ratiu, Ileana (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Jun2025, Vol. 37 Issue 6, p1147-1172. 26p.
Subjects: Cognitive load, Short-term memory, Eye tracking, Pupillometry, Cognition
Abstract: Noncanonical sentence structures pose comprehension challenges because they require increased cognitive demand. Prosody may partially alleviate this cognitive load. These findings largely stem from behavioral studies, yet physiological measures may reveal additional insights into how cognition is deployed to parse sentences. Pupillometry has been at the forefront of investigations into physiological measures of cognitive demand during auditory sentence comprehension. This study offers an alternative approach by examining whether eye-tracking measures, including blinks and saccades, index cognitive demand during auditory noncanonical sentence comprehension and whether these metrics are sensitive to reductions in cognitive load associated with typical prosodic cues. We further investigated how eye-tracking patterns differ across correct and incorrect responses, as a function of time, and how each related to behavioral measures of cognition. Canonical and noncanonical sentence comprehension was measured in 30 younger adults using an auditory sentence–picture matching task. We also assessed participants' attention and working memory. Blinking and saccades both differentiate noncanonical sentences from canonical sentences. Saccades further distinguish noncanonical structures from each other. Participants made more saccades on incorrect than correct trials. The number of saccades also related to working memory, regardless of syntax. However, neither eye-tracking metric was sensitive to the changes in cognitive demand that was behaviorally observed in response to typical prosodic cues. Overall, these findings suggest that eye-tracking indices, particularly saccades, reflect cognitive demand during auditory noncanonical sentence comprehension when visual information is present, offering greater insights into the strategies and neural resources participants use to parse auditory sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Saccades and Blinks Index Cognitive Demand during Auditory Noncanonical Sentence Comprehension.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22LaCroix%2C+Arianna+N%2E%22">LaCroix, Arianna N.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ratiu%2C+Ileana%22">Ratiu, Ileana</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Cognitive+Neuroscience%22">Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 37 Issue 6, p1147-1172. 26p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+load%22">Cognitive load</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Short-term+memory%22">Short-term memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eye+tracking%22">Eye tracking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pupillometry%22">Pupillometry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognition%22">Cognition</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Noncanonical sentence structures pose comprehension challenges because they require increased cognitive demand. Prosody may partially alleviate this cognitive load. These findings largely stem from behavioral studies, yet physiological measures may reveal additional insights into how cognition is deployed to parse sentences. Pupillometry has been at the forefront of investigations into physiological measures of cognitive demand during auditory sentence comprehension. This study offers an alternative approach by examining whether eye-tracking measures, including blinks and saccades, index cognitive demand during auditory noncanonical sentence comprehension and whether these metrics are sensitive to reductions in cognitive load associated with typical prosodic cues. We further investigated how eye-tracking patterns differ across correct and incorrect responses, as a function of time, and how each related to behavioral measures of cognition. Canonical and noncanonical sentence comprehension was measured in 30 younger adults using an auditory sentence–picture matching task. We also assessed participants' attention and working memory. Blinking and saccades both differentiate noncanonical sentences from canonical sentences. Saccades further distinguish noncanonical structures from each other. Participants made more saccades on incorrect than correct trials. The number of saccades also related to working memory, regardless of syntax. However, neither eye-tracking metric was sensitive to the changes in cognitive demand that was behaviorally observed in response to typical prosodic cues. Overall, these findings suggest that eye-tracking indices, particularly saccades, reflect cognitive demand during auditory noncanonical sentence comprehension when visual information is present, offering greater insights into the strategies and neural resources participants use to parse auditory sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1162/jocn_a_02295
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Eye tracking
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      – TitleFull: Saccades and Blinks Index Cognitive Demand during Auditory Noncanonical Sentence Comprehension.
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              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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