Adaptive sequential eye-movement sampling and replay under different task demands

Abstract Human cognition is capacity-limited, requiring strategies to actively structure information. Eye movements offer a natural mechanism for sequential sampling, but whether such sequences organize mnemonic representations is unknown. We developed a working-memory task where color-frequency pairings created a consistent latent ordinal structure to optimally reduce memory load. Across two experiments, gaze patterns spontaneously aligned with this structure. Participants sampled items following this sequence during encoding and covertly replayed them during maintenance. Critically, the expression of this structure depended on cognitive demand. In a 3-item task, high performers showed robust sequential sampling during encoding, whereas lower performers compensated with replay-like revisitation during maintenance. Under higher demand (4 items), encoding-based organization was disrupted, and structured replay emerged primarily during maintenance to support memory. These findings show that eye movements do more than reflect memory; they actively organize it, revealing a flexible, behavioral analogue to neural replay when encoding resources are strained.