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Updated: Sep 19, 2025
A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking
Published on: July 9, 2016
Using eye tracking to evaluate cognitive and visual outcomes of early life phenol exposure
Matthieu Rolland1, Sadia Khan1, Sarah Lyon-Caen1
1University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm U-1209, CNRS-UMR-5309, Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health Team, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, 38000, Grenoble, France.
Insights
Prenatal and infant exposure to certain phenols, like ethylparaben and bisphenol S, may positively impact visual behavior and cognitive function in children. Specific phenol types and exposure timing influenced outcomes like reaction time and social attention.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Psychology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Previous studies on synthetic phenols often used parent reports and focused on prenatal exposure.
- Limited research exists on the effects of phenol exposure on objective measures of child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between prenatal and infancy phenol exposures and objective measures of child visual behavior and cognitive function.
- To assess visual behavior indicators like attentional control, visual recognition memory, social attention, and processing speed at 2 years of age.
Main Methods:
- 151 children from the SEPAGES mother-child cohort participated in eye-tracking tasks.
- Phenol concentrations (bisphenols, parabens, benzophenone-3, triclosan) were measured in maternal and infant urine samples.
- Exposure windows included maternal second and third trimesters, and infant ages 2 and 12 months.
Main Results:
- Ethylparaben exposure was linked to shorter reaction times and reduced eye-looking time.
- Propylparaben exposure correlated with increased preference for novel faces, particularly in boys.
- Bisphenol S exposure was associated with reduced reaction time and increased time spent looking at eyes.
Conclusions:
- Some phenol exposures correlated with improved eye-tracking scores, suggesting potential benefits.
- Findings highlight the importance of exposure timing and phenol type, aligning with research on phenol exposure and ASD symptoms.
- Further research with objective markers and clinical assessments is needed due to limited sample sizes and prior research.
Introduction:
Studies on behavioral effects of synthetic phenols have often relied on parent-reported questionnaires and primarily focused on prenatal exposure.
Aims:
We examined associations between prenatal and infancy phenol exposures and objective measures of child visual behavior and cognitive function at 2 years of age.
Methods:
At age 2, 151 children from the SEPAGES mother-child cohort completed eye-tracking tasks assessing four indicators: fixation duration (attentional control), novelty preference (visual recognition memory), time spent looking at eyes (social attention), and reaction time (processing speed).Phenol concentrations (two bisphenols, three parabens, benzophenone-3, triclosan) were measured in multiple urine samples collected from mothers (second and third trimesters; median: 42 samples per woman) and infants (2 and 12 months; median: 7 samples).
Results:
No associations were found with ∑parabens. However, individual parabens showed significant associations: ethylparaben at third trimester (T3) and 12 months (M12) was linked to shorter reaction time; at 2 months (M2), it was associated with reduced time spent looking at eyes. Propylparaben at T2 and T3 correlated with increased time spent looking at a novel face, especially in boys. Bisphenol S at T2 was associated with reduced reaction time; at M12, infants with detectable bisphenol S was linked to more time spent looking at eyes.
Conclusion:
Several associations observed indicate that increased phenol exposure sometimes correlated with improved eye-tracking scores. These findings align with prior literature on phenol exposure and ASD symptoms, which highlight variability by exposure window and phenol type.Given limited research and typically small sample sizes, further studies using objective markers and clinical assessments are necessary.
