Impaired social attention detected through eye movements in children with early‐onset epilepsy

Abstract

Objectives Children with early‐onset epilepsy (CWEOE; epilepsy onset before 5 years) exhibit impaired social functioning, but social attention has not yet been examined. In this study we sought to explore visual attention via eye tracking as a component of social attention and examine its relationship with social functioning and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk scores. Methods Forty‐seven CWEOE (3–63 months) and 41 controls (3–61 months) completed two eye‐tracking tasks: (1) preference for social versus nonsocial naturalistic scenes, and (2) face region preference task. ASD risk was measured via the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers or Conners Early Childhood Total Score. Social functioning was assessed via the Greenspan Social‐Emotional Growth Chart, or Infant‐Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment Competence Scale, or Conners Early Childhood Social Functioning Scale, depending on age. Fixation preferences for social scenes and eyes were compared between groups and evaluated by age and social functioning scores. Results Regression analysis revealed that CWEOE viewed the social scene to a significantly less degree than controls. The greatest difference was found between the youngest CWEOE and controls. Fixation duration was independently and significantly related to social functioning scores. There were no significant differences between CWEOE and controls in the face scanning task, and there was no significant relationship between either task and ASD risk scores. Significance CWEOE exhibit task‐specific atypical social attention early in the course of the disease. This may be an early marker of impaired social development, and it suggests abnormal social brain development.

Implementation of Closing Eyes Detection with Ear Sensor of Muse EEG Headband using Support Vector Machine Learning

“…4, there was an indication that the eye movement was detected using just two basic eye movements: opened and closed conditions. This made an opportunity for epilepsy detection as it was also discussed for children [9]. Further analysis has been made to show the differences which might come from this improvement in this machine learning application.…”

“…Epilepsy seizures themselves can be seen from the outside in the form of patient movements such as muscle stiffness, jerking, and loss of response. In addition, it can also be easily detected from eye movement-related activities [9]. However, because they are unconscious, patients often do not know what happens when the seizure occurs.…”

Interictal discharges delay target‐directed eye movements and impair attentional set‐shifting in children with epilepsy

“…Eye movements are closely associated with attentional behavior in the normative state 24–26 and demonstrate marked abnormalities in people with epilepsy 27–31 . The strong associations between eye movements and attentional behavior provide a compelling rationale to apply eye tracking as an adjunct in the neuropsychological assessment of children with epilepsy 31,32 .…”

“…19,23 Eye movements are closely associated with attentional behavior in the normative state [24][25][26] and demonstrate marked abnormalities in people with epilepsy. [27][28][29][30][31] The strong associations between eye movements and attentional behavior provide a compelling rationale to apply eye tracking as an adjunct in the neuropsychological assessment of children with epilepsy. 31,32 Furthermore, because eye movements can be tracked on a moment-to-moment basis, they may inform understanding of ephemeral processes, such as TCI.…”

A Potential Multimodal Test for Clinical Assessment of Visual Attention in Neurological Disorders

“… 18 In the same population, other eye-tracking metrics reveal possible dysfunctions of the visuo-attentive system, reflected in larger position errors, smaller saccadic amplitudes, smaller peak velocities, smaller peak accelerations and longer saccadic durations, that may improve after the acute phase. 19 , 20 Patients with epilepsy may show shorter fixation duration on visual target stimuli, 21 upward eye deviation, 22 increased saccadic peak velocity, reduced latency of prosaccades and increased express saccades. 23 ERPs have been largely employed to study cognitive features and deficits of attention.…”