Discovering Oculometric Patterns to Detect Cognitive Performance Changes in Healthy Youth Football Athletes

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sports Science
• Computational Informatics

Background:

• Cognitive performance in youth athletes can fluctuate during a sport season.
• Oculometric patterns (eye movements) offer a potential objective measure of cognitive function.
• Individual developmental rates lead to performance variability in cognitive tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in cognitive performance in youth athletes by analyzing oculometric patterns during a mental workload task.
• To establish baseline oculometric data profiles based on individual reading speeds.
• To explore the utility of oculometric data for detecting cognitive impairments.

Main Methods:

• Measured oculometric features (fixations, saccades) in 116 athletes (ages 7-14) pre- and post-season.
• Classified athletes into slow, moderate, and fast reading speed profiles for task performance.
• Utilized a multidimensional visualization tool (DiViTo) to analyze oculometric data changes.

Main Results:

• Established distinct oculometric baselines for different reading speed profiles.
• Described intra-individual changes in oculomotor function correlated with cognitive performance shifts over the season.
• Demonstrated the potential of oculometric data to reflect cognitive changes.

Conclusions:

• Oculometric patterns can track cognitive performance changes in youth athletes across a sport season.
• The developed methodology may aid in identifying cognitive impairments, including concussion and neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Oculometric analysis offers a promising, non-invasive approach for cognitive health monitoring in young athletes.