The relationship between scan path direction and cognitive processing

Researchers have tracked eye movement in order to determine focal attention for the last hundred years. As technology has advanced the tools and equipment utilized has led to greater insights into the psychology and physiology associated with scanning patterns which are not solely limited to attention processes. This research expands upon this by incorporating neurophysiological techniques to assess cognitive processing associated with directional scan paths and the potential associations of task dependent neural networks when interacting with the interface. It is hypothesized that the scan path direction reflects a user's cognitive processing. The results of this study indicate that the cognitive processing involved with the direction of the scan path differ with increased activity in networks involved with encoding, spatial attention, short term memory and error processing when eye scanning is towards the right. These results may be utilized to understand perceptual limitations within an interface which may be utilized for design purposes.