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Updated: Aug 5, 2025
Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
Published on: October 18, 2018
Eye-Movements in a Text Reading Task: A Comparison of Preterm Children, Children with Dyslexia and Typical Readers
Paola Bonifacci1, Valentina Tobia2, Alessandra Sansavini1
1Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari", University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
Insights
Children born preterm exhibit reading skill weaknesses, distinct from dyslexia. Eye-tracking reveals differences in reading patterns, with preterm children showing shorter fixations during reading tasks.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Preterm birth is linked to reading difficulties, often milder than those seen in dyslexia.
- Understanding the specific reading process characteristics in preterm children is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the reading process characteristics of children born preterm, children with dyslexia, and typically developing children.
- To analyze eye movement patterns and cognitive/reading task performance across these groups.
Main Methods:
- A cross-population, multi-modal study involving 78 participants (average age 10.5 years).
- Eye movements (fixations, saccades, regressions) were recorded during silent reading of two texts.
- Standardized cognitive and reading assessments were administered.
Main Results:
- Children with dyslexia exhibited more fixations, frequent/smaller saccades, and more regressions than preterm and typical groups.
- Preterm children demonstrated shorter fixations compared to both dyslexia and typical development groups.
- Standardized tests confirmed severe reading delays in dyslexia and weaknesses in reading speed/comprehension for preterm children.
Conclusions:
- Preterm children show distinct reading process characteristics, including shorter fixations, suggesting unique underlying mechanisms.
- The findings highlight specific reading challenges in preterm populations that differ from dyslexia.
- Further research into candidate mechanisms and intervention implications for preterm reading development is warranted.
Abstract:
Preterm birth is associated with weaknesses in reading skills that are usually less severe than those of children with dyslexia. To understand the characteristics of reading processes in preterm children, we adopted a cross-population and multi-modal approach comparing eye movements in reading tasks among three groups: children with preterm birth, children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, and children with typical development. The study involved 78 participants (10.5 years). Eye movements (number and duration of fixations, amplitude and number of saccades, number of regressions) were recorded during the silent reading of two texts; cognitive and reading standardized tasks were also administered. Children with dyslexia had more fixations and more frequent and smaller saccades compared to the preterm group and children with typical development. They also showed more regressions compared to the control group. Preterm children showed shorter fixations compared to the other groups. Cognitive and reading standardized tasks confirmed severe delays in reading in children with dyslexia and some weaknesses in text reading speed and comprehension in preterm children. These results are discussed with reference to candidate mechanisms that underlie reading processes in preterm children and considering possible implications for research.
