Saccadic eye movement and change of semantic associations: Possible therapeutic mechanisms of EMDR

In light of a putative model proposed by Stickgold and to mimic clinical trial of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), this study examined possible therapeutic mechanism and effect of eye movements (EM) on change of semantic associations and to explore if the effect would be influenced by valence of stimuli and order of presentation. Seventy-five college students were recruited as participants. The results showed that the effect of 8s saccadic bilateral eye movement in terms of change of semantic associations was associated with valence of words and their presentation order, which echoed Stickgold’s model, Shapiro’s clinical procedure, and also advanced the evidence regarding the mechanism of EM from the framework of working memory model. The present study further highlights the importance of taking into consideration these three treatment variables simultaneously when doing EM. The implications of the findings from both the theoretical and clinical viewpoints are discussed.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Sue-Hwang Chang
K. P. Chen

Chang, S.-H., & Chen, K. P. (2009). Saccadic eye movement and change of semantic associations: Possible therapeutic mechanisms of EMDR. National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan