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Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior
Published on: November 14, 2018
Genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in visual attention and oculomotor control in early
Monica Siqueiros-Sanchez1,2, Giorgia Bussu3, Ana Maria Portugal3
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
Infants differ in their level of eye movement control, which at the extreme could be linked to autism. We assessed eye movements in 450 twins (225 pairs, 57% monozygotic, 46% female, aged 5-6 months) using the gap-overlap eye-tracking task. Shorter latency in the gap condition was associated with having more parent-rated autistic traits at 2 years. Latency across the task's three conditions was primarily explained by one highly heritable latent factor likely representing individual differences in basic oculomotor efficiency and/or in visual information processing. Additionally, disengagement of attention was linked to unique genetic factors, suggesting that genetic factors involved in visual attention are different from those involved in basic visual information processing and oculomotor efficiency.
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