The authors acknowledge that the wider study from which this paper is generated is financially supported by the General Research Fund under the University Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administration Region, China (grant number: GRF 844813); and by the Research Support Scheme 2017/18 of the Department of Special Education and Counselling at the Education University of Hong Kong.

Parental and participant consent was obtained during the recruitment process in a primary school and a children service center for ASD in Hong Kong and the study was approved by the university ethical review committee of the Education University of Hong Kong.
1. Use of a Video-based Assessment
<ol>
	<li>Produce several social videos, about one minute long, that consist of daily life scenarios involving several people in a social context (Figure 1).
	<ol>
		<li>Produce several social videos, about one minute long, that consist of daily life scenarios involving several people in a social context. For the three children in our case study, each child watched the same three videos. The first video demonstrates the following social scenario. In a crowded cafeteria, a student spots an unoccupied seat that is simultaneously occupied by a lady who is talking on the phone and places her bag on the seat with no awareness of his request (Figure 1). The second video demonstrates the following social scenario. Students are playing a chess game while an unfamiliar student comes too close to watch them playing the game. The third video demonstrates the following social scenario. A boy&#8217;s painting is ruined when his friend accidentally spills water from a cup on the table.&#160;</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Conduct expert reviews of all the videos. Select those social scenarios that are agreed on the most by the experts as containing the actors&#8217; intention, emotions, and thoughts through their expressions and gestures.</li>
</ol>
2. Recruitment of the Participants
<ol>
	<li>From the pool of participants who satisfied the research inclusion criteria, select and match participants with ASD, with ASD-ADHD, and neurotypical controls using their medical diagnostic reports and the percentile scores of Raven&#8217;s Standard Progressive Matrices16.</li>
	<li>Convert their Raven percentile scores to five percentile ranks. Select participants who perform at ranks II or III (average) and exclude those who scored above rank I (above average) or at rank IV (below average).</li>
</ol>
3. Eye-tracking Experiment
<ol>
	<li>Experimental set-up
	<ol>
		<li>On one side of the eye-tracking room, display the videos on a 23-inch color LCD monitor with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, using an eye tracker at a distance of approximately 60 cm from the participant. Have a research investigator operate the eye tracker from the other side of the eye-tracking room (Figure 2).</li>
		<li>Have another research investigator sit next to the participant and instruct the participant to look at the screen of the monitor. Place the monitor in front of the child on the other side of the partition and connect to the eye tracker. The choice of eye-tracking equipment, testing environment, and the set-up procedures are previously discussed17.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Calibration process
	<ol>
		<li>Instruct the participants to watch the calibration dots that set the viewing boundaries across the screen by capturing the eye movements using infrared corneal reflectance technology. The calibration is properly done if all the green dots or lines fall within the grey circle dots.</li>
		<li>Repeat the calibration if some of the green dots or lines do not fall within the grey circle dots.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Viewing of the videos
	<ol>
		<li>Instruct the participant to view the social videos one after another, and capture their eye movement data during viewing using the eye tracker.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
4. Data Analysis
<ol>
	<li>Define and set up the first-moment fixation within AOIs.
	<ol>
		<li>Choose context-relevant targets (face, hands, targeted objects, etc.) in their initial 500 ms of appearance in each scene of the video as AOIs (Figure 3) and label the AOIs in the information box on the left panel.</li>
		<li>Upon the completion of the addition and selection of the AOIs in the current frame, move the cursors in the timeline bar at the bottom panel to the next frame.</li>
		<li>Adjust the location and boundary of the AOIs in each frame of the video in the presentation video software of the eye tracker manually as the target areas change in each time frame of the video due to the movement of the people or objects as the story of the social video develops.</li>
		<li>Click the Select button on the top panel and add new AOIs to the new scene if necessary. If some existing AOIs are present for 500 ms in the current scene (the timestamp of the video can be checked in the bottom left panel) or if they are not relevant in the new frame in the video, right-click on these AOIs to deactivate them in the new frame.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Run a statistical analysis of the eye-tracking indices. Follow the steps of statistical data processing on the eye tracker as described below.
	<ol>
		<li>Choose the recordings of the children.</li>
		<li>Select the Media file for analysis.</li>
		<li>Select from the available videos.</li>
		<li>Click Analyze selected media.</li>
		<li>Choose the Descriptive statistics (e.g., Sum).</li>
		<li>Choose the dependent measures in Metrics (e.g., First fixation duration, visit count).</li>
		<li>Choose Recordings in Rows.</li>
		<li>Select AOI Media Summary in Columns.</li>
		<li>Click Update to analyze the eye-tracking patterns. The results of the eye-tracking pattern metrics are shown on the screen.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Create the scanpath of a scene from the eye-tracking data.
	<ol>
		<li>Choose Visualization and GazePlot in the software.</li>
		<li>Select the Media and Recordings in the left panel for visualization.</li>
		<li>In the bottom timeline, move the lower cursor to the beginning of the target scene and move the upper cursor to the end of the target scene.</li>
		<li>Make sure Accumulate is chosen for the Data field to show the accumulative scanpath.</li>
		<li>Click Export and Visualization image to save the scanpath as a separate image file.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>American Psychiatric Association. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th Edition (DSM-V). , (2013).</li><li>Williams, D. L., Goldstein, G., Minshew, N. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neuropsychologic+functioning+in+children+with+autism:+further+evidence+of+disordered+complex+information+processing.">Neuropsychologic functioning in children with autism: further evidence of disordered complex information processing.</a> Child Neuropsychology. 12, 279-298 (2006).</li><li>Bons, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=emotional,+and+cognitive+empathy+in+children+and+adolescents+with+autism+spectrum+disorder+and+conduct+disorder.">emotional, and cognitive empathy in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and conduct disorder.</a> Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 41, 425-443 (2013).</li><li>Van der Meer, J. M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Are+autism+spectrum+disorder+and+attention-deficit/hyperactivity+disorder+different+manifestations+of+one+overarching+disorder?+Cognitive+and+symptom+evidence+from+a+clinical+and+population-based+sample.">Are autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder different manifestations of one overarching disorder? Cognitive and symptom evidence from a clinical and population-based sample.</a> Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 51 (11), 1160-1172 (2012).</li><li>Brosnan, M. J., Scott, F. J., Fox, S., Pye, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gestalt+processing+in+autism:+Failure+to+process+perceptual+relationships+and+the+implications+for+contextual+understanding.">Gestalt processing in autism: Failure to process perceptual relationships and the implications for contextual understanding.</a> Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 45 (3), 459-469 (2004).</li><li>Behrmann, M., Thomas, C., Humphreys, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Seeing+it+differently:+Visual+processing+in+autism.">Seeing it differently: Visual processing in autism.</a> Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 10 (6), 258-264 (2006).</li><li>Happ&#233;, F. G. E., Frith, U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+weak+coherence+account:+Detail-focused+cognitive+style+in+autism+spectrum+disorders.">The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders.</a> Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 36, 5-25 (2006).</li><li>Tsang, V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Eye-tracking+study+on+facial+emotion+recognition+tasks+in+individuals+with+high-functioning+autism+spectrum+disorders.">Eye-tracking study on facial emotion recognition tasks in individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.</a> Autism. 22 (2), 161-170 (2018).</li><li>Renzi, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Featural+and+Configural+processing+of+faces+are+dissociated+in+the+dorsolateral+prefrontal+cortex:+A+TMS+study.">Featural and Configural processing of faces are dissociated in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: A TMS study.</a> NeuroImage. 74, 45-51 (2013).</li><li>Samson, F., Mottron, L., Soulieres, I., Zeffiro, T. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Enhanced+visual+functioning+in+autism:+An+ALE+meta-analysis.">Enhanced visual functioning in autism: An ALE meta-analysis.</a> Human Brain Mapping. 33 (7), 1553-1581 (2012).</li><li>Sasson, N. J., Turner-Brown, L. M., Holtzclaw, T. N., Lam, K. S. L., Bodfish, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Children+with+autism+demonstrate+circumscribed+attention+during+passive+viewing+of+complex+social+and+nonsocial+picture+arrays.">Children with autism demonstrate circumscribed attention during passive viewing of complex social and nonsocial picture arrays.</a> Autism Research. 1, 31-42 (2008).</li><li>Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., Volkmar, F., Cohen, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Visual+fixation+patterns+during+viewing+of+naturalistic+social+situations+as+predictors+of+social+competence+in+individuals+with+autism.">Visual fixation patterns during viewing of naturalistic social situations as predictors of social competence in individuals with autism.</a> Archives of General Psychiatry. 59, 809-816 (2002).</li><li>Rutherford, M. 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P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Idiosyncratic+Brain+Activation+Patterns+Are+Associated+with+Poor+Social+Comprehension+in+Autism.">Idiosyncratic Brain Activation Patterns Are Associated with Poor Social Comprehension in Autism.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 35, 5837-5850 (2015).</li><li>Raven, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Manual for Raven&#39;s Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales. Research Supplement No.1: The 1979 British Standardisation of the Standard Progressive Matrices and Mill Hill Vocabulary Scales. , (1981).</li><li>Sasson, N. J., Elison, J. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Eye+tracking+young+children+with+autism.">Eye tracking young children with autism.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (61), e3675 (2012).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

The first-moment fixation duration was shorter for the ASD-ADHD and ASD children than for the neurotypical child. The total fixation duration was shorter for the ASD-ADHD child than for the neurotypical child, demonstrating a general reduction in visual attention to social stimuli. This showed that the ASD-ADHD child showed a delay in attending to the entry of social stimuli in a social scene. This delay might cause the child to skip registering important momentary social information, which may lead to the misinterpretat...

Persons with ASD are known to be characterized by behavioral deficits in social communication, based on conventional behavioral evidence from structured observational assessments and parent interviews. In addition, sensory processing abnormalities have been recently incorporated into the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of ASD1. Social information processing involves the lower level sensory-perceptual processing and higher level social cognitive processing of social information. Sensory-perceptual processing refers to the ability to attend to social stimuli and encode them in a short-term memory bank for instant retrieval and response-planning, while social cognitive processing refers to the interpretation of social information by social reasoning and problem-solving2,3. As such, social information-processing deficits often lead to other psychobehavioral characteristics, such as social anxiety and inattentiveness. This can be illustrated by the high comorbid prevalence rate of ASD with attention deficit-hyperactive disorder (ADHD). The range of comorbidity for ADHD in ASD has been estimated at 30% to 80%, whereas the presence of comorbid ASD in ADHD has been estimated at 20% to 50%4.
Two major hypotheses have been put forward to account for the deficits in social information processing&#8212;namely, enhanced perceptual functioning (EPF) and weak central coherence (WCC). EPF refers to the overattentiveness to or preoccupation with specific parts by individuals with ASD, whereas WCC refers to their weakness to derive the essence of wholes by pulling together the interelement relationships of the parts5. Both theoretical frameworks attest to their failure to globally configure or process the multiple stimuli concurrently presented in a confined social context6,7. In an earlier face emotion recognition study using static face expression photos8, it was found that the ASD group tended to show localized processing of facial features (such as the shape of the mouth) using EPF, but seem to be weaker in configural processing, which demands pulling together the more abstract perceptual concepts as postulated by WCC, such as the spatial relationships between multiple facial components (e.g., the distance between the eyebrows and the intensity of the eye gaze)9,10.
Since daily social episodes consist of dynamic moment-to-moment subtle changes in social information, any failure to attend or engage in the sensory-perceptual processing of subtle human nonverbal cues, such as facial expression, postures, and gestures, and to make sense of the relationships of the different social stimuli might lead to inappropriate social cognitive processing. Eye-tracking experiments have been increasingly used to supplement clinical observation in social information processing studies. Eye-tracking data, in the form of scanpath patterns, visual fixation counts, and visual duration, have been major biomarkers to investigate social information processing in ASD11,12,13,14,15.
In this study, we illustrate the use of the eye-tracking technique to investigate whether the two participants with ASD and with ASD-ADHD process the first moments of social video scenes differently than the neurotypical child. The eye tracker equipment captures four major indices during viewing: the number of visual fixations, the first fixation duration, the total fixation duration, and the scanpath patterns in the form of spatial arrangement and sequence of fixation points. In this way, how fast each participant attends to the audio-visual stimuli predefined by AOIs as they first appear into the social scenes, for how long they continue to look at those AOIs, and their gaze shifts between multiple AOIs appearing concurrently in the same social scene can be captured. Any delay to fixate AOIs during the first moments (i.e., 500 ms) and the trajectory of the scanpaths provide important evidence for data analysis. Representative findings from the qualitative analysis of this single-case comparative study using this paradigm are reported.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:741px;" width="741">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:227px;">Tobii Pro TX300</td>
			<td style="width:79px;">Tobii</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:313px;">Screen based eye-tracker (300Hz refreshing rate)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:227px;">Tobii Pro Studio</td>
			<td style="width:79px;">Tobii</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">N/A</td>
			<td>Software for analyzing eyetracking data</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

comparing eye-tracking data of children with high-functioning asd, comorbid adhd, and of a control watching social videos

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are known to have sensory-perceptual processing deficits that weaken their abilities to attend and perceive social stimuli in daily living contexts. Since daily social episodes consist of subtle dynamic changes in social information, any failure to attend to or process subtle human nonverbal cues, such as facial expression, postures, and gestures, might lead to inappropriate social interaction. Traditional behavioral rating scales or assessment tools based on static social scenes have limitations in capturing the moment-to-moment changes in social scenarios. An eye-tracking assessment, which can be administered in a video-based mode, is therefore preferred, to augment clinical observation. In this study, using the single-case comparison design, the eye-tracking data of three participants, a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), another with comorbid attention deficit-hyperactive disorder (ADHD), and a neurotypical control, are captured while they view a video of social scenarios. The eye-tracking experiment has helped answer the research question: How does social attention differ between the three participants? By predefining areas of interest (AOIs), their visual attention on relevant or irrelevant social stimuli, how fast each participant attends to the first social stimuli appearing in the videos, for how long each participant continues to attend to those stimuli within the AOIs, and the gaze shifts between multiple social stimuli appearing concurrently in the same social scene are captured, compared, and analyzed in a video-based eye-tracking experiment.

The eye-tracking data of the three Cantonese-speaking children (with ASD, with ASD-ADHD, and a control) aged between the ages of 7 and 9 viewing three social videos using the aforementioned paradigm is presented here (Table 1).
The first fixation duration (per 500 ms target AOI) was longer for the neurotypical child (150 ms) than for the ASD and ASD-ADHD children (both 110 ms). The total fixation duration (per 5...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos at JoVE.com

Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos

This is a qualitative comparative case study analysis of eye-tracking data on the first moments of social video scenes as viewed by three participants: one with autism spectrum disorder, one with comorbid attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, and one neurotypical control.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are known to have sensory-perceptual processing deficits that weaken their abilities to attend and perceive ...

comparing-eye-tracking-data-children-with-high-functioning-asd

Universidad de Cartagena UDEC

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

8.8K Views.  Education University of Hong Kong. This is a qualitative comparative case study analysis of eye-tracking data on the first moments of social video scenes as viewed by three participants: one with autism spectrum disorder, one with comorbid attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, and one neurotypical control.

Video: Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Objective and easy measurement of sensory processing is extremely difficult in nonverbal or vulnerable pediatric patients. We developed a new methodology to quantitatively assess children&#39;s cortical processing of light touch, speech sounds and the multisensory processing of the 2 stimuli, without requiring active subject participation or causing children discomfort. To accomplish this we developed a dual channel, time and strength calibrated air puff stimulator that allows both tactile stimulation and sham control. We combined this with the use of event-related potential methodology to allow for high temporal resolution of signals from the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices as well as higher order processing. This methodology also allowed us to measure a multisensory response to auditory-tactile stimulation.

Objective and easy measurement of sensory processing is extremely difficult in nonverbal or vulnerable pediatric patients. We developed a new methodology to quantitatively assess infants and children&#39;s cortical processing of light touch, speech sounds, and the multisensory processing of the 2 stimuli, without requiring active subject participation or causing discomfort in vulnerable patients.

Objective and easy measurement of sensory processing is extremely difficult in nonverbal or vulnerable pediatric patients. We developed a new methodology ...

Eye Tracking, Cortisol, and a Sleep vs. Wake Consolidation Delay: Combining Methods to Uncover an Interactive Effect of Sleep and Cortisol on Memory

Although rises in cortisol can benefit memory consolidation, as can sleep soon after encoding, there is currently a paucity of literature as to how these two factors may interact to influence consolidation. Here we present a protocol to examine the interactive influence of cortisol and sleep on memory consolidation, by combining three methods: eye tracking, salivary cortisol analysis, and behavioral memory testing across sleep and wake delays. To assess resting cortisol levels, participants gave a saliva sample before viewing negative and neutral objects within scenes. To measure overt attention, participants&#8217; eye gaze was tracked during encoding. To manipulate whether sleep occurred during the consolidation window, participants either encoded scenes in the evening, slept overnight, and took a recognition test the next morning, or encoded scenes in the morning and remained awake during a comparably long retention interval. Additional control groups were tested after a 20&#160;min&#160;delay in the morning or evening, to control for time-of-day effects. Together, results showed that there is a direct relation between resting cortisol at encoding and subsequent memory, only following a period of sleep. Through eye tracking, it was further determined that for negative stimuli, this beneficial effect of cortisol on subsequent memory may be due to cortisol strengthening the relation between where participants look during encoding and what they are later able to remember. Overall, results obtained by a combination of these methods uncovered an interactive effect of sleep and cortisol on memory consolidation.

We present a protocol used to discover an interactive effect between sleep and cortisol on memory consolidation, particularly for negative arousing images. Specifically, the experimental design utilizes eye tracking, salivary cortisol analysis, and behavioral memory testing &#8211; methods that can be used with both healthy and clinical participants.

Although rises in cortisol can benefit memory consolidation, as can sleep soon after encoding, there is currently a paucity of literature as to how these ...

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In addition to impairments in social communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, deficits in sensory processing are now recognized as a core symptom in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our ability to perceive and interact with the external world is rooted in sensory processing. For example, listening to a conversation entails processing the auditory cues coming from the speaker (speech content, prosody, syntax) as well as the associated visual information (facial expressions, gestures). Collectively, the &#8220;integration&#8221; of these multisensory (i.e., combined audiovisual) pieces of information results in better comprehension. Such multisensory integration has been shown to be strongly dependent upon the temporal relationship of the paired stimuli. Thus, stimuli that occur in close temporal proximity are highly likely to result in behavioral and perceptual benefits &#8211; gains believed to be reflective of the perceptual system&#39;s judgment of the likelihood that these two stimuli came from the same source. Changes in this temporal integration are expected to strongly alter perceptual processes, and are likely to diminish the ability to accurately perceive and interact with our world. Here, a battery of tasks designed to characterize various aspects of sensory and multisensory temporal processing in children with ASD is described. In addition to its utility in autism, this battery has great potential for characterizing changes in sensory function in other clinical populations, as well as being used to examine changes in these processes across the lifespan.

We describe how to implement a battery of behavioral tasks to examine the processing and integration of sensory stimuli in children with ASD. The goal is to characterize individual differences in temporal processing of simple auditory and visual stimuli and relate these to higher order perceptual skills like speech perception.

In addition to impairments in social communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, deficits in sensory processing are ...

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations supportive behavior of other people as well as positive social relationships can act as powerful resources to cope with stress. In order to study the interplay between these variables, this protocol describes two effective experimental manipulations of social relationships and supportive behavior in the laboratory. In the present article, these two manipulations are implemented in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST)&#8212;a standard stress induction paradigm in which participants are subjected to a simulated job interview. More precisely, we propose (a) a manipulation of the relationship between different protagonists in the TSST by making a shared social identity salient and (b) a manipulation of the behavior of the TSST-selection committee, which acts either supportively or unsupportively. These two experimental manipulations are designed in a modular fashion and can be applied independently of each other but can also be combined. Moreover, these two manipulations can also be integrated into other stress protocols and into other standardized social interactions such as trust games, negotiation tasks, or other group tasks.

Previous research on the social dimension of stress has focused on two important variables: social identity and social support. This protocol introduces an effective experimental manipulation of these two social variables and describes their implementation in a standard stress induction paradigm (Trier Social Stress Test).

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations ...

A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking

Visual problems that occur early in life can have major impact on a child's development. Without verbal communication and only based on observational methods, it is difficult to make a quantitative assessment of a child's visual problems. This limits accurate diagnostics in children under the age of 4 years and in children with intellectual disabilities. Here we describe a quantitative method that overcomes these problems. The method uses a remote eye tracker and a four choice preferential looking paradigm to measure eye movement responses to different visual stimuli. The child sits without head support in front of a monitor with integrated infrared cameras. In one of four monitor quadrants a visual stimulus is presented. Each stimulus has a specific visual modality with respect to the background, e.g., form, motion, contrast or color. From the reflexive eye movement responses to these specific visual modalities, output parameters such as reaction times, fixation accuracy and fixation duration are calculated to quantify a child's viewing behavior. With this approach, the quality of visual information processing can be assessed without the use of communication. By comparing results with reference values obtained in typically developing children from 0-12 years, the method provides a characterization of visual information processing in visually impaired children. The quantitative information provided by this method can be advantageous for the field of clinical visual assessment and rehabilitation in multiple ways. The parameter values provide a good basis to: (i) characterize early visual capacities and consequently to enable early interventions; (ii) compare risk groups and follow visual development over time; and (iii), construct an individual visual profile for each child.

A method is described to quantify the quality of visual information processing based on reflexive eye movements in response to specific visual modalities. Reaction times and fixation output parameters are used to characterize visual performance in children with and without visual impairments from 6 months of age.

Visual problems that occur early in life can have major impact on a child's development. Without verbal communication and only based on observational ...

Eye-Tracking Control to Assess Cognitive Functions in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with pathological involvement of upper and lower motoneurons, subsequently leading to progressive loss of motor and speech abilities. In addition, cognitive functions are impaired in a subset of patients. To evaluate these potential deficits in severely physically impaired ALS patients, eye-tracking is a promising means to conduct cognitive tests. The present article focuses on how eye movements, an indirect means of communication for physically disabled patients, can be utilized to allow for detailed neuropsychological assessment. The requirements, in terms of oculomotor parameters that have to be met for sufficient eye-tracking in ALS patients are presented. The properties of stimuli, including type of neuropsychological tests and style of presentation, best suited to successfully assess cognitive functioning, are also described. Furthermore, recommendations regarding procedural requirements are provided. Overall, this methodology provides a reliable, easy to administer and fast approach for assessing cognitive deficits in patients who are unable to speak or write such as patients with severe ALS. The only confounding factor might be deficits in voluntary eye movement control in a subset of ALS patients.

Cognitive deficits are common in about one third of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological condition leading to progressive impairments in speech and movement abilities. To conduct cognitive tests in patients unable to speak or write a reliable and easy to administer eye-tracking paradigm was developed.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with pathological involvement of upper and lower motoneurons, subsequently leading to ...

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children &#8211; Working Memory (CABC-WM)

The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM) is a computer-based battery designed to assess different components of working memory in young school-age children. Working memory deficits have been identified in children with language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia1,2 and language impairment3,4, but it is not clear whether these children exhibit deficits in subcomponents of working memory, such as visuospatial or phonological working memory. The CABC-WM is administered on a desktop computer with a touchscreen interface and was specifically developed to be engaging and motivating for children. Although the long-term goal of the CABC-WM is to provide individualized working memory profiles in children, the present study focuses on the initial success and utility of the CABC-WM for measuring central executive, visuospatial, phonological loop, and binding constructs in children with typical development. Immediate next steps are to administer the CABC-WM to children with specific language impairment, dyslexia, and comorbid specific language impairment and dyslexia.

Working memory predicts a significant amount of variance for a variety of cognitive tasks, including speaking, reading, and writing. However, few tools are available to assess working memory in children. We present an innovative, computer-based battery that comprehensively assesses different components of working memory in school-age children.

The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM) is a computer-based battery designed to assess different components of ...

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading

Regressive eye movements are eye movements that move backwards through the text and comprise approximately 10-25% of eye movements during reading. As such, understanding the causes and mechanisms of regressions plays an important role in understanding eye movement behavior. Inhibition of return (IOR) is an oculomotor effect that results in increased latency to return attention to a previously attended target versus a target that was not previously attended. Thus, IOR may affect regressions. This paper describes how to design materials to distinguish between regressions caused by comprehension-related and oculomotor processes; the latter is subject to IOR. The method allows researchers to identify IOR and control the causes of regressions. While the method requires tightly controlled materials and large numbers of participants and materials, it allows researchers to distinguish and control the types of regressions that occur in their reading studies.

The method was designed to investigate the role of inhibition of return (IOR) in regressive eye movements during reading. The focus is on differentiating between regressions triggered as a result of comprehension difficulty versus those triggered from oculomotor error, including the role of IOR in the two types of regressions.

Regressive eye movements are eye movements that move backwards through the text and comprise approximately 10-25% of eye movements during reading. As ...

Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recordings in Human Epilepsy Patients

Intracranial recordings from patients with intractable epilepsy provide a unique opportunity to study the activity of individual human neurons during active behavior. An important tool for quantifying behavior is eye tracking, which is an indispensable tool for studying visual attention. However, eye tracking is challenging to use concurrently with invasive electrophysiology and this approach has consequently been little used. Here, we present a proven experimental protocol to conduct single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans. We describe how the systems are connected and the optimal settings to record neurons and eye movements. To illustrate the utility of this method, we summarize results that were made possible by this setup. This data shows how using eye tracking in a memory-guided visual search task allowed us to describe a new class of neurons called target neurons, whose response was reflective of top-down attention to the current search target. Lastly, we discuss the significance and solutions to potential problems of this setup. Together, our protocol and results suggest that single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans are an effective method to study human brain function. It provides a key missing link between animal neurophysiology and human cognitive neuroscience.

We describe a method to conduct single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans. We demonstrate the utility of this method and illustrate how we used this approach to obtain neurons in the human medial temporal lobe that encode targets of a visual search.

Intracranial recordings from patients with intractable epilepsy provide a unique opportunity to study the activity of individual human neurons during ...

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Assessing infant category learning is a challenging but vital aspect of studying infant cognition. By employing a familiarization-test paradigm, we straightforwardly measure infants&#8217; success in learning a novel category while relying only on their looking behavior. Moreover, the paradigm can directly measure the impact of different auditory signals on the infant categorization across a range of ages. For instance, we assessed how 2-year-olds learn categories in a variety of labeling environments: in our task, 2-year-olds successfully learned categories when all exemplars were labeled&#160;or the first two exemplars were labeled, but they failed to categorize when no exemplars were labeled or only the final two exemplars were labeled. To determine infants&#8217; success in such tasks, researchers can examine both the overall preference displayed by infants in each condition and infants&#8217; pattern of looking over the course of the test phase, using an eye-tracker to provide fine-grained time-course data. Thus, we present a powerful paradigm for identifying the role of language, or any auditory signal, in infants&#8217; object category learning.

Here we present a protocol for familiarization-test paradigms which provide a direct test of infant categorization and help to define the role of language in early category learning.

Assessing infant category learning is a challenging but vital aspect of studying infant cognition. By employing a familiarization-test paradigm, we ...