TY - JOUR
PY - 2011//
TI - Effect of stimulus type on the eye movements of children
JO - Investigative ophthalmology and visual science
A1 - Irving, Elizabeth L.
A1 - Gonzalez, E. G.
A1 - Lillakas, Linda
A1 - Wareham, Jennifer
A1 - McCarthy, T.
SP - 658
EP - 664
VL - 52
IS - 2
N2 - Purpose. We investigate whether or not pictures elicit superior response rates and eye movement dynamics on saccade and pursuit tasks compared with dots or spots of light, and whether the need for "more interesting stimuli" is age-dependent. Methods. Using video eye tracking, horizontal eye movements were investigated in children and adults using dots and small coloured pictures as stimuli. Saccade data were obtained from 61 people and pursuit data from 53 people, age 3-30 yrs with no known ocular, ocular motor, neurological, or systemic disease. Saccadic stimuli were randomly presented in steps ranging in size from 5-30 deg. Pursuits at four velocities (5, 10, 20 and 30 deg/s) were tested using step ramp stimuli. Results. Picture targets result in age-dependent improvements in ocular motor responses compared to dots. With the exception of saccadic accuracy, the youngest children are most affected by the type of target. Adults are affected very little. For pictures, saccadic response rates (t(60)=4.30, P<.001), saccadic peak velocities (t(60)=2.24, p=.03), saccadic accuracy (t(59) = 2.34, p = .02), and closed loop pursuit gains (F(3, 50)=2.86, p=.046) are higher. Saccadic error rates (t(60)=3.91, p<.001) and saccadic latencies (t(59)=9. 5, p<.001) are lower with pictures. Conclusions. Stimulus characteristics can affect response rates and eye movement dynamics, particularly in young children. In order to avoid under-estimation of eye movement performance in young children it is important to use meaningful targets. Furthermore, when comparing the ocular motor performance of children across studies one must consider the type of stimuli used. Language: en
LA - en
SN - 0146-0404
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.10-5480
ID - ref1
ER -