Estudo da resposta pupilar como indicador da memória de reconhecimento

Abstract

Since the 1960s, researchers have been exploring the relationship between pupil size and cognitive function. Pupillary responses are known to indicate brain processes involved in perception, attention and decision making, and may provide an accessible biomarker of human memory performance and cognitive states in general. The present investigation aimed to study the pupillary response as an indicator of recognition memory. The sample consisted of 21 university students who performed a recognition task consisting of 3 pairs of different lists, each with 10 words in the presentation phase and 20 in the recognition phase. The analysis of the results was based on behavioral responses, namely omissions, false alarms, correct rejections and hits, and the average pupil response, with manipulation of the retention interval time. The results do not show an increase in pupil dilation in relation to the increase in the retention interval, which does not support the first hypothesis. However, they indicate an increase in the percentage of false alarms along with a decrease in the percentage of hits when the retention interval increases, which corroborates the second hypothesis.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	Portuguese
Supervisor	JORGE ALEXANDRE GASPAR OLIVEIRA (Supervisor)