Saccadic movements using eye-tracking technology in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: pilot study

Abstract

-Objective: To verify diff e rences in the visual scanning strategies between pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) and controls when they are observing social and non-social picture s . M e t h o d : PDD group (PDDG) comprised by 10 non-re t a rded subjects (age from 4 to 41) and age-matched contro l group (CG). Nine social pictures with human beings (including two pictures of cat mask), and 3 nonsocial p i c t u res of objects were presented for 5 seconds. Saccadic movements and fixation were re c o rded with equipment EyeGaze ® (LC Technologies Inc.). Results: PDDG (mean=292.73, SE=67.62) presented longer duration of saccadic movements for social pictures compared to CG (mean=136.06, SE=14.01) (p=0.04). The CG showed a higher number of fixations in the picture 7 (a women using a cat mask, with the eyes erased) (CG: mean=3.40; PDDG: mean=1.80; p=0.007). Conclusion: The results suggest diff e rences in strategies that PDD explore human picture. More o v e r, these strategies seem not to be affected by the lack of expected part of the face (the eyes).KEY WORDS: autism, Asperger's syndrome, pervasive development disorder, eye movement. . O grupo controle apresentou maior número de fixações na figura 7 (mulher com máscara de gato sem os olhos) (TID=1,8; controle=3,4; p=0,007). Conclusão: Indivíduos com TID parecem utilizar estratégias diferentes para explorar figura humana. Além disso, o padrão de investigação deles não se modifica quando observam uma figura que rompe com o esperado (a falta dos olhos).PA L AV R A S -C H AVE: autismo, síndrome de Asperg e r, transtornos globais do desenvolvimento infantil, movimento ocular.Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting social, communication and behavior d o m a i n s 1 . To d a y, the re s e a rches have shown that more than a unique entity, autism is a segment of a b road spectrum, comprising by diff e rent perv a s i v e developmental disorders (PDD) 2 . At least, two major issues might be underlying this field; the search for earlier diagnoses and better endophenotypes characterization 3,4 . Several studies, based on eye tracking devices techniques, have explored the diff e rences between PDD and normal controls gaze strategies in observing human faces 5 -1 2 . The majority of the face perc e ptions studies have been focused on visual fixation

Cognitive rehabilitation system for children with autism spectrum disorder using serious games: A pilot study

“…Nevertheless, there were differences when the game was stopped (see Table 6), since the clinical group fixed their gaze on the bottom of the screen, as shown in several research cases. This indicator can help professionals ascertain how to display new elements or concepts to them [51,52].…”

The Cognitive Interview for Eyewitnesses with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Ashwin, Ricciardelli, & Baron-Cohen, 2009). Indeed previous work using eye-tracking techniques has indicated that ASD individuals spend less time than do typical individuals viewing people and faces in social situations (Mercadante, Macedo, Baptista, Paula, & Schwartzman, 2006;Riby & Hancock, 2009;Riby & Hancock, 2008), and future work would be valuable in utilising these eye tracking techniques to examine the role of directed attention on salient social and person aspects of an event and its effect on subsequent memory recall in an eyewitness paradigm. That the ASD group were significantly more accurate for Surrounding details when interviewed with SIs is not unexpected given that these types of details can be relatively separated from person and action details and might rely on more of a rote memory strategy.…”

A Tomada de Decisão (Bio)ética: Estudo Preliminar Utilizando o Mobile Eye Tracking

“…Orsati et al 19 came to the same conclusion, despite the small size of the sample. Data obtained point to the necessity of new studies with a higher number of participants 19,27 . Concerning decision-making, Postma et al published a research that demonstrates the use of Mobile Eye in the analysis of vision in decision-making processes.…”

“…Mercadante et al 27 assessed the search and visual focus pattern in autistic patients compared to a group control of healthy subjects, concluding autistic subjects present search and focus patterns of images that in certain aspects configure peculiar social situations. Orsati et al 19 came to the same conclusion, despite the small size of the sample.…”