Science / Medicine : Blink Signals Understanding

The brain registers information and processes it in the blink of an eye--perhaps literally.

Research suggests that blinking may indicate that a person has stored information, made a decision or performed a difficult mental task, according to John A. Stern, professor of psychology at Washington University.

“For a long time, people generally believed we blink only to moisten our eyes,” he said.

But Stern now believes that blinking is not a random act.

Studies of infants have suggested that people need to blink only once every two minutes in order to moisten their eyes.

Adults, who blink on average of 10 to 15 times a minute, blink as they process information. His studies of adults show that they blink when they have registered information.

“It’s sort of like the statement, ‘I got it!’ ” Stern said.

He also found that people blink when they have understood a question.

“Even if the asker is only halfway through the question, the subject will blink when he understands, as if to say he doesn’t need to hear the rest of the words,” Stern said.

He has also found that people blink differently when they are comprehending visual information, as opposed to information they hear. Their eyes remain closed longer when they have heard information than when they are looking at something.

Stern hopes that his research someday can be used to create equipment to monitor alertness.