The Good Men Project Become a Premium Member We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable. Memory Problems? Maybe an Optometrist Can Help The eyes do more than capture images — they're a part of an entire system. By Deborah Zelinsky, O.D. Why would someone visit an optometrist for memory problems? Because memories are built on our ability to “visualize” and “process” what we are seeing, feeling, smelling, touching, hearing, and thinking. Visual processing is what enables us to respond appropriately to changes in the environment. That environment can include aromas, facial expressions, gestures, words heard, traffic patterns, even sports strategies. We make decisions and predictions on the basis of our understanding, and understanding comes from the visualization process, which involves using new experiences to compare and contrast with previous ones; in other words — memory.