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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking
Published on: July 9, 2016
Immaturity of Oculomotor Capabilities During a Reading Task in Children Born Prematurely: An Eye Tracker Study
Maria Pia Bucci1, Simona Caldani2, Béatrice Boutillier3
1UMR 7114 MoDyCo, 27051CNRS-Université Paris Nanterre, France.
Insights
Children born prematurely exhibit reading eye movement patterns similar to full-term children matched by reading ability, not chronological age. This suggests delayed development in brain areas crucial for reading-related eye movements.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Reading is a complex cognitive process involving precise eye movements.
- Oculomotor patterns during reading can indicate developmental status.
- Previous research has not specifically examined the reading eye movements of preterm children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and characterize the oculomotor patterns during reading in children born prematurely.
- To compare the reading eye movements of preterm children with full-term children matched for chronological age and reading age.
- To explore potential links between oculomotor patterns and reading development in preterm individuals.
Main Methods:
- Studied 23 preterm children (mean age 7.8 years) and two control groups of full-term children.
- Matched control groups based on chronological age and reading age, respectively.
- Recorded and analyzed oculomotor patterns, including fixation duration, saccade amplitude, and frequency during reading tasks.
Main Results:
- Preterm children's oculomotor reading patterns mirrored those of full-term children matched for reading age.
- This pattern included longer fixation durations, frequent, small-amplitude prosaccades, and frequent backward saccades.
- Preterm children's patterns differed significantly from full-term children matched for chronological age, who exhibited shorter fixations and larger prosaccades.
Conclusions:
- The oculomotor reading patterns in preterm children resemble those of reading-age-matched full-term peers.
- These findings suggest that preterm birth may be associated with delayed development in brain regions governing reading-related eye movements.
- Oculomotor analysis offers insights into the neurodevelopmental aspects of reading in preterm populations.
Abstract:
To our knowledge, there are no studies recording the reading eye movements of children born prematurely. We examined the oculomotor patterns during reading of 23 children born prematurely (M age = 7.8, SD = 0.2 years) to compare them with those from two groups of children born at full-term who were matched for chronological age or reading age, respectively. We found the oculomotor reading pattern in children who were preterm to be similar to that of children who were full-term and matched for reading age; this shared pattern was characterized by longer duration of fixations, frequent prosaccades of smaller amplitude and several backward saccades. In contrast, when these two groups were compared to full-term children matched for chronological age, the latter group showed significantly shorter duration of fixations, less frequent saccades and larger amplitude prosaccades. Thus, the oculomotor pattern we observed in 7-year-old children who were either preterm or reading-delayed, relative to their age-matched peers, reflected delayed development of brain areas involved in reading-related eye movements.
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