Spontaneous eye blinking in human infants: A review

Bacher, Leigh F.; Smotherman, William P.

doi:10.1002/dev.10162

Cited by 53 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…Researchers of adults conclude that SB is inhibited during tasks that elicit visual tracking or sustained visual attention, although they disagree about the specific cognitive processes that induce this inhibition (see review by Bacher & Smotherman, 2004b). Future work with adults and infants is needed to clarify the psychological processes that contribute to this effect on the rate of SB during sustained visual attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Bacher

Allen

2008

Developmental Psychobiology

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Although progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms of spontaneous eye blinking (SB), few reports focus on the ontogeny of SB. The purpose of the present work was to investigate SB in infants by attempting to manipulate SB and examine potential correlates of SB. Fifty-two infants were observed in a quiet baseline condition then presented with either moving stimuli or a social stimulus. SB, eye movement, body movement and various background variables were measured. Results demonstrate that SB can be manipulated and that SB rate is differentially sensitive to the type of stimulus presented. Eye and body movements did not systematically relate to the rate of SB. Implications for mechanisms of SB regulation are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Bacher

Allen

2008

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…Average individual rates of blinking increase with age (12,13) and are correlated with dopamine levels in human and nonhuman primates (14,15). However, blinking also relates, like other autonomic processes (e.g., heart rate, perspiration), to cognitive states beyond physiological function alone (16): Blink rate has been observed to vary as a function of several cognitive tasks (17)(18)(19)(20)(21), and blink rates decrease during activities that require greater attention [as when reading vs. sitting in a waiting room (22)].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibition of eye blinking reveals subjective perceptions of stimulus salience

Shultz

Klin

Jones

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

106

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Spontaneous eye blinking serves a critical physiological function, but it also interrupts incoming visual information. This tradeoff suggests that the inhibition of eye blinks might constitute an adaptive reaction to minimize the loss of visual information, particularly information that a viewer perceives to be important. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the timing of blink inhibition, during natural viewing, is modulated between as well as within tasks, and also whether the timing of blink inhibition varies as a function of viewer engagement and stimulus event type. While viewing video scenes, we measured the timing of blinks and blink inhibition, as well as visual scanning, in a group of typical two-year-olds, and in a group of two-year-olds known for attenuated reactivity to affective stimuli: toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Although both groups dynamically adjusted the timing of their blink inhibition at levels greater than expected by chance, they inhibited their blinking and shifted visual fixation differentially with respect to salient onscreen events. Moreover, typical toddlers inhibited their blinking earlier than toddlers with ASD, indicating active anticipation of the unfolding of those events. These findings indicate that measures of blink inhibition can serve as temporally precise markers of perceived stimulus salience and are useful quantifiers of atypical processing of social affective signals in toddlers with ASD.autonomic function | child development | eye-tracking | social engagement W hen we blink, the flow of visual information between the world and one's retina is temporarily interrupted. In that instant of blinking, visual stimulation from the external world is lost for 150-400 ms (1, 2). As a result, the average adult, in the course of a single waking day, will spend ∼44 min with his or her eyelids closed, missing visual information. During those moments, an exquisite choreography of neural systems-encompassing movement of the oculomotor muscles (3); activity in supplementary and frontal eye fields (4); and widespread activity in visual, parietal, and prefrontal cortical areas (5, 6)-works together to suppress the actual visual signal of an occluding eyelid. These systems create the illusion of perceptual continuity (6, 7), but if new visual information is presented in that instant of blinking, it will be missed (8, 9).From the standpoint of physiology, blinks exist primarily to protect: They keep the eyes hydrated and protect against foreign objects (10, 11). Average individual rates of blinking increase with age (12, 13) and are correlated with dopamine levels in human and nonhuman primates (14, 15). However, blinking also relates, like other autonomic processes (e.g., heart rate, perspiration), to cognitive states beyond physiological function alone (16): Blink rate has been observed to vary as a function of several cognitive tasks (17-21), and blink rates decrease during activities that require greater attention [as when reading vs. sitting in a waiting room ...

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“…g . , s c h i z o p h re n i a ) 2 . There f o re, the absence of capsaicin effects in blinking of normal people as observed here is in line with the dopamine influence on it in similar populations 2 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blinking keeps the cornea with moisture contin u o u s l y 1 and reflects activity of dopaminergic syst e m 2 . In normal adult people, spontaneous eye blinking occurs 10 to 20 times per minute in a re l axed state without gender diff e re n c e s 1 , 2 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Capsaicin effects on blinking

León-Sarmiento

Bayona-Prieto

Leon-S³

2005

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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-Blinking is a normal human phenomenom involving trigeminal and facial patways. To gain understanding on the neurobiology of blinking, five normal subjects were investigated before and after a pplication of transdermal capsaicin at the forehead for two weeks. No effects of topical capsaicin were detected in eye blink rates. However, when capsaicin was applied to a female subject with blepharospasm, s h e showed a dramatic restoration of her vision subsequent to blinking modification. Deactivation of abnormal A-to-C fibers cross talks at the trigeminal-facial pathways seems to be the most likely mechanism of such improvement.KEY WORDS: capsaicin, visuomotor integration, C-fibers, blinking, dystonia.Efectos de la capsaicina en el parpadeo RESUMEN -El parpadeo es un fenómeno normal en los humanos que involucra las vías trigéminas faciales. Con el fin de conocer un poco más la neurobiología de este fenómeno estudiamos cinco individuos norm ales antes y después de aplicar capsaicina trasdérmica en la frente de cada uno de ellos, por dos semanas. La frecuencia de parpadeo no se alteró con la aplicación de capsaicina tópica. Sin embargo, cuando la misma sustancia se aplicó a una paciente con blefaroespasmo hubo dramática restauración de su visión, la cual fue secundaria a la modificación de la actividad muscular palpebral. La desactivación del cruce patológi-co de información que pasa de las fibras A a las fibras C, pertenecientes a las vías trigémino-faciales, pare c e ser el mecanismo de acción relacionado con la aplicación de capsaicina, el que estaría directamente re l a c i o n ado con la recuperación clínica observada en la paciente con blefaroespasmo.

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Spontaneous eye blinking in human infants: A review

Cited by 53 publications

References 60 publications

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

Inhibition of eye blinking reveals subjective perceptions of stimulus salience

Capsaicin effects on blinking

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