Two experiments examining effects of eye movements on episodic memory retrieval are reported. Thirty seconds of horizontal saccadic eye movements (but not smooth pursuit or vertical eye movements) preceding testing resulted in selective enhancement of episodic memory retrieval for laboratory (Experiment 1) and everyday (Experiment 2) events. Eye movements had no effects on implicit memory. Eye movements were also associated with more conservative response biases relative to a no eye movement condition. Episodic memory improvement induced by bilateral eye movements is hypothesized to reflect enhanced interhemispheric interaction, which is associated with superior episodic memory (S. D. Christman & R. E. Propper, 2001). Implications for neuropsychological mechanisms underlying eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (F. Shapiro, 1989, 2001), a therapeutic technique for posttraumatic stress disorder, are discussed.

and KERI ANN PHANEUF Merrimack College, North Andover, MassachusettsRecent behavioral and brain imaging data indicate that performance on explicit tests of episodic memory is associated with interaction between the left and right cerebral hemispheres, in contrast with the unihemispheric basis for implicit tests of memory. In the present work, individual differences in strength of personal handedness were used as markers for differences in hemispheric communication, with mixed-handers inferred to have increased interhemispheric interaction relative to strong right-handers. In Experiment 1, memory for words was assessed via recall or word fragment completion. In Experiment 2, memory for real-world events was assessed via recall. Results supported the hypothesis, in that mixed-handers displayed better episodic memory in comparison with strong right-handers.