Analysis of Eye Movements Reveals Longer Visual Saccades and Abnormal Preference for Social Images in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Longer Saccades and Fewer Fixations on Social Stimuli in Autism

Rok, strany: 2024, 1 - 5

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to compare the distribution of attention on two categories of stimuli: 1) social stimuli and 2) objects or geometric shapes, in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a control group. Moreover, we examined the relationship between the parameters of saccadic eye movements and the severity of ASD. Furthermore, we were interested in whether the metrics derived from saccadic eye movements could serve as useful biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder. DESIGN: There were 79 participants in the research sample, 34 in the ASD group and 45 in the control group. We used two categories of photos: a) social stimuli, which consisted of either facial or full-body photographs; b) objects and geometric shapes, which included photographs of natural still-lifes with a distinctive geometric element, photographs of trains, cars and planes. Stimuli were presented in pairs, one photo on the left half of the screen and the other on the right half of the screen. A total of 10 pairs of images were displayed for a duration of 10 seconds each. Eye movements were recorded during presentation of the stimuli. To assess the severity of ASD, the Autism spectrum quotient (AQ) was used. RESULTS: Visual saccades were significantly longer in the ASD group than in the control group. There was no difference between the groups in the average saccade velocity or in the fixation duration mean. The ASD group had significantly fewer fixations on social stimuli and significantly shorter total fixation time on social stimuli than the control group. The AQ was positively correlated to the average saccade length and negatively to the total fixation time on social stimuli and the number of fixations on social stimuli. When the average saccade length was used as a criterion, we were able to differentiate ASD with a sensitivity of 0.85 and a specificity of 0.60. CONCLUSION: We attempted to develop an oculomotor registration method for ASD identification. The average saccade length and the total fixation time on social stimuli were the most appropriate biomarkers for identifying individuals with ASD

ISO 690:

Špajdel, M. 2024. Analysis of Eye Movements Reveals Longer Visual Saccades and Abnormal Preference for Social Images in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Longer Saccades and Fewer Fixations on Social Stimuli in Autism. In Activitas Nervosa Superior Rediviva, vol. 66, no.1, pp. 1-5. 1337-933X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/ansr.2024.66.1.1

APA:

Špajdel, M. (2024). Analysis of Eye Movements Reveals Longer Visual Saccades and Abnormal Preference for Social Images in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Longer Saccades and Fewer Fixations on Social Stimuli in Autism. Activitas Nervosa Superior Rediviva, 66(1), 1-5. 1337-933X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/ansr.2024.66.1.1

Vydavateľ: Centre of Experimental Medicine SAS, v. v. i.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0