The Disengagement of Visual Attention: An Eye-Tracking Study of Cognitive Impairment, Ethnicity and Age

Abstract

Various studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with an impairment of inhibitory control, although we do not have a comprehensive understanding of the associated cognitive processes. The ability to engage and disengage attention is a crucial cognitive operation of inhibitory control and can be readily investigated using the “gap effect” in a saccadic eye movement paradigm. In previous work, various demographic factors were confounded; therefore, here, we examine separately the effects of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, ethnicity/culture and age. This study included young (N = 44) and old (N = 96) European participants, AD (N = 32), mildly cognitively impaired participants (MCI: N = 47) and South Asian older adults (N = 94). A clear reduction in the mean reaction times was detected in all the participant groups in the gap condition compared to the overlap condition, confirming the effect. Importantly, this effect was also preserved in participants with MCI and AD. A strong effect of age was also evident, revealing a slowing in the disengagement of attention during the natural process of ageing.

Inhibitory Control of Saccadic Eye Movements and Cognitive Impairment in Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…The present study results determined the correlation between specific saccade parameters and neuropsychological measures. We found weak to moderate correlations across various measures in line with previous studies ( Heuer et al, 2013 ; Yang et al, 2013 ; Peltsch et al, 2014 ; Chehrehnegar et al, 2019 ; Wilcockson et al, 2019 ; Polden et al, 2020 ). Some of the correlations were likely related to demographic factors (e.g., age, sex, and years of education) because controlling for them diminished the effects, especially for the MCI subjects.…”

“…Limitations of our study are as following. Eye-movement control may be influenced by culture and ethnicity factors ( Knox et al, 2012 ; Polden et al, 2020 ), and we examined saccades in only native Korean participants, which may limit the generalizability of our findings. Secondly, our results were derived from a single eye-tracking recording, and MCI patients may revert to normal or progress to other conditions.…”

Saccadic Eye Movement in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Of these, eight studies (Bourgin et al, 2018 ; Bylsma et al, 1995 ; Currie et al, 1991 ; Mosimann et al, 2004 ; Pavisic et al, 2017 ; L. F. Scinto et al, 1994 ; T. Shakespeare et al, 2015 ; Verheij et al, 2012 ) did not meet the data availability inclusion criteria as the reported saccade paradigm temporal format could not be distinguished or gap and the overlap results were combined; thus, these studies were excluded from the meta-analysis. Thus, the remaining 27 studies (Abel et al, 2002 ; Alichniewicz et al, 2013 ; Boucart et al, 2014a , b ; Boxer et al, 2006 , 2012 ; Chehrehnegar et al, 2019 ; Crawford et al, 2013 , 2015 , 2019 ; de Boer et al, 2016 ; Garbutt et al, 2008 ; Hershey et al, 1983 , 2013 ; Holden et al, 2018 ; Kaufman et al, 2012 ; Laurens et al, 2019 ; Lenoble et al, 2015 , 2018 ; Mosimann et al, 2005 ; Noiret et al, 2018 ; Peltsch et al, 2014 , 2020 ; Shafiq-Antonacci et al, 2003 ; Wilcockson et al, 2019 ; Yang et al, 2011 , 2013 ) were included in the quantitative analysis (meta-analysis: see Fig. 1 ).…”

Eye Movement Alterations in Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Proof-of-Concept Study

“…Latency value is task dependant. In fact, there are several studies reporting these differences [5,17,[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. Perhaps, the most significant factor in reducing the reaction time, in terms of both the magnitude and robustness of the reduction, occurs in a phenomenon known as the gap.…”