Saccadic eye movements in normal children from 8 to 15 years of age: A developmental study of visuospatial attention

Abstract

This cross-sectional study used saccadic eye movements, as measured by infrared occulography, to assess several aspects of visuospatial attention in normal children ages 8-15 years. Saccadic latency (a global measure of the ability to shift visuospatial attention), the ability to suppress extraneous saccades during fixation, and the ability to inhibit task-provoked anticipatory saccades all improve with age. However, the pattern of development differs for different tasks; saccadic latency shortens at a linear rate across the age range 8-15 years, while the capacity to inhibit anticipatory saccades matures by 12-13 years of age, and the ability to suppress saccades matures by 10 years of age. Analyses of age-related changes in oculomotor measures of attention may provide a novel approach in the study of children with attentional difficulties.

Deficits in visuo-spatial working memory, inhibition and oculomotor control in boys with ADHD and their non-affected brothers

“…These anticipatory and intrusive saccades are present irrespective of the paradigm used to study saccades and are also present in adults with ADHD (Munoz et al 2003;Feifel et al 2004), despite an age dependent decline in anticipatory and intrusive saccades (Ross et al 1994b). This may suggest that these abnormal saccades form an important, characteristic sign of pathology in ADHD.…”

Adolescents’ Attention to Responsibility Messages in Magazine Alcohol Advertisements: An Eye-Tracking Approach

“…Eyetracking studies involving children generally have smaller sample sizes than those with older teenagers or college-age participants. For example, Fischer et al's study of visual attention to tobacco warning messages involved 61 high school students aged 13-17 years [30], whereas Ross et al used eyetracking to study visuospatial attention in 53 children aged 8 -15 years [31], and van der Geest et al compared gaze patterns between 14 normal children and 16 autistic children aged 8 -14 years [32].…”

Development of prosaccade and antisaccade task performance in participants aged 6 to 26 years

“…The ability to inhibit reflexive prosaccades to peripherally flashed stimuli during a fixation task may be impaired after medial or ventrolateral frontal lesions, but not after lesions of the DLPFC~Paus, Kalina, Patackova, Angerova, Cerny, Mecik, Bauer, & Krabec, 1991!. Whereas most of these results have been obtained with adult individuals, comparatively little is known about the development of the saccadic functions in children and adolescents. Slightly augmented prosaccadic reaction times~Cohen & Ross, 1977& Ross, , 1978Fischer, Biscaldi, & Gezeck, 1997;Groll & Ross, 1982;Miller, 1969;Ross, Radant, Young, & Hommer, 1994! and an augmented prosaccadic gap effect~Cohen & Ross, 1977, 1978!…”