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Saccadic adaptation in children
Michael S Salman1, James A Sharpe, Moshe Eizenman
1Division of Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Insights
Children aged 8 and older demonstrate saccadic adaptation, a motor learning process for eye movements. This study shows that the neural circuits for this learning are functional in young children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Saccades are rapid eye movements crucial for visual exploration.
- Saccadic adaptation is a form of motor learning involving adjustments to saccade amplitude based on visual error feedback.
- Understanding saccadic adaptation in children is vital for assessing typical neurodevelopment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and characteristics of saccadic adaptation in typically developing children.
- To determine if age influences saccadic adaptation in children aged 8 to 19 years.
Main Methods:
- Utilized infrared eye tracking to record saccadic eye movements in 39 children (aged 8–19).
- Implemented an adaptive task involving induced saccadic hypometric error (12-degree target steps with a 3-degree backward step).
- Measured changes in saccadic amplitude before and after the adaptive task.
Main Results:
- Saccadic adaptation was successfully achieved in 26 participants (66.7%).
- Mean saccadic amplitudes decreased by 13% (P < .05) in participants who adapted.
- No significant influence of age on the capacity for saccadic adaptation was observed.
Conclusions:
- Typically developing children as young as 8 years old possess the necessary neural circuitry for saccadic adaptation.
- The findings suggest that the motor learning mechanisms underlying saccadic adaptation are established early in development.
Abstract:
Saccades are fast-orienting eye movements. Saccadic adaptation, a form of motor learning, is a corrective change in the amplitude of saccades in response to error. The aim of the study was to ascertain whether saccadic adaptation occurs in typically developing children. We recorded saccades with an infrared eye tracker in 39 children, aged 8 to 19 years, at baseline to 12-degree horizontal target steps and after an adaptive task. During the adaptive task, a saccadic hypometric error was induced. This task consisted of 200 12-degree target steps that stepped backward 3 degrees during the initial saccade and without the participants' awareness. The initial saccade triggered the back-step. This paradigm required a corrective reduction of the amplitude of the initial saccades in response to the induced error. Saccadic adaptation was achieved in 26 participants, whose mean saccadic amplitudes decreased by 13% (P < .05). Saccadic adaptation was not influenced by age. We conclude that children as young as 8 years old have established functions of the neural circuits responsible for the motor learning required for saccadic adaptation.
