Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025
Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Visual scanning of social stimuli in preterm and autism spectrum disorder children
Vivian Renne Gerber Lederman1, Ana Lucia Goulart2, Juliana Gioia Negrão1
1Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Insights
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and preterm (PT) children show distinct eye-gaze patterns compared to neurotypical (Ty) children. ASD children had different object fixation times, while PT children focused more on social interactions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Understanding visual attention patterns is crucial for identifying developmental differences.
- Eye-gaze behavior can offer insights into social interaction processing in children.
- Preterm birth and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are associated with altered neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the eye-gaze patterns of preterm (PT), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and neurotypical (Ty) children.
- To determine if specific visual attention differences exist among these groups when viewing social stimuli.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving eight preterm, nine ASD, and five neurotypical male children (ages 6-9).
- Eye gaze was evaluated using stimuli including a social interaction board and a video of children playing.
- Quantified the duration of time each child spent looking at different parts of the visual stimuli.
Main Results:
- All groups fixated on the central social figure similarly.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children exhibited significant differences in object fixation duration (p=0.021).
- Preterm children spent more time fixating on the central social interaction compared to the overall scene, unlike neurotypical children.
Conclusions:
- This study highlights notable differences in eye-gaze patterns among preterm, ASD, and neurotypical children.
- Preliminary findings suggest distinct visual attention strategies related to social stimuli in these groups.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm these initial observations.
Objective:
To evaluate the pattern of eye-gaze of preterm (PT), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical (Ty) children.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study with eight preterm (born with ≤2000 g weight), nine ASD and five Ty male children, between six and nine years old, was performed. The eye gaze was evaluated presenting a board with a couple in social interaction, and a video with four children playing with blocks, projected in a screen computer, successively, evaluating the time that the children looked at each stimulus.
Results:
Although all the groups focus on the central social figure with no significant differences, ASD presented significant differences in time fixation of the objects (p=0.021), while premature children fixated more time in the central social interaction than in the whole scene than typical children.
Conclusions:
Although this study found noteworthy differences in the eye-gaze patterns among the three groups, additional research with a more extensive participant pool is necessary to validate these preliminary results.
