Pupillometry: A Window to the Preconscious?

The measurement of pupil diameter in psychology (in short, "pupillometry") has just celebrated 50 years. The method established itself after the appearance of three seminal studies (Hess & Polt, 1960,1964; Kahneman & Beatty, 1966). Since then, the method has continued to play a sig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perspectives on psychological science 2012-01, Vol.7 (1), p.18-27
Main Authors: Laeng, Bruno, Sirois, Sylvain, Gredebäck, Gustaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appearance
attention
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognitive neuroscience
consciousness
development
Emotional expression
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
infant
Infants
Locus coeruleus
Measurement
Mental states
Mental stimulation
methodology
Methodology. Experimentation
Neurons
neuroscience
Neurosciences
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychometrics. Statistics. Methodology
Psychophysiology
Pupil size
Pupillary responses
Pupillometry
Pupils
unconscious/automatic processing
Windows
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Summary:The measurement of pupil diameter in psychology (in short, "pupillometry") has just celebrated 50 years. The method established itself after the appearance of three seminal studies (Hess & Polt, 1960,1964; Kahneman & Beatty, 1966). Since then, the method has continued to play a significant role within the field, and pupillary responses have been successfully used to provide an estimate of the "intensity" of mental activity and of changes in mental states, particularly changes in the allocation of attention and the consolidation of perception. Remarkably, pupillary responses provide a continuous measure regardless of whether the participant is aware of such changes. More recently, research in neuroscience has revealed a tight correlation between the activity of the locus coeruleus (i.e., the "hub" of the noradrenergic system) and pupillary dilation. As we discuss in this short review, these neurophysiological findings provide new important insights to the meaning of pupillary responses for mental activity. Finally, given that pupillary responses can be easily measured in a noninvasive manner, occur from birth, and can occur in the absence of voluntary, conscious processes, they constitute a very promising tool for the study of preverbal (e.g., infants) or nonverbal participants (e.g., animals, neurological patients).
ISSN:1745-6916
1745-6924
1745-6924
DOI:10.1177/1745691611427305