A Rapid Eye Movement Test That Could Help Diagnose Autism Disorders
Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester have masterminded a rapid eye movement test that can detect abnormalities in the cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") that also appear to be a marker for certain autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Their paper, "Eye Movements, Sensorimotor Adaptation and Cerebellar-Dependent Learning in Autism: Toward Potential Biomarkers and Subphenotypes," was published online July 12, 2017 in the European Journal of Neuroscience. >>
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.13625/full
In a series of experiments, the authors of this study had individuals with and without ASD track a visual target as it zoomed around to different locations on a screen. As participants' eyes darted across the screen chasing a target, the researchers were tracking their rapid eye movements (also known as "saccades"). Saccades are the synchronized rapid movements both eyes make as your gaze and attention quickly shifts from one point of focus to another.
“These finding suggest that assessing the ability of people to adapt saccade amplitudes is one way to determine whether this function of the cerebellum is altered in ASD,” said Edward Freedman, Ph.D. an associate professor in the URMC Department of Neuroscience and co-author of the study.
“If these deficits do turn out to be a consistent finding in a sub-group of children with ASD, this raises the possibility that saccade adaptation measures may have utility as a method that will allow early detection of this disorder.”
► Learn more>> https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/5102/eye-test-could-help-diagnose-autism.aspx
► Image credit: 8thstar/CC 3.0>> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Human_eye#/media/File:A_blue_eye.jpg
Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester have masterminded a rapid eye movement test that can detect abnormalities in the cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") that also appear to be a marker for certain autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Their paper, "Eye Movements, Sensorimotor Adaptation and Cerebellar-Dependent Learning in Autism: Toward Potential Biomarkers and Subphenotypes," was published online July 12, 2017 in the European Journal of Neuroscience. >>
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.13625/full
In a series of experiments, the authors of this study had individuals with and without ASD track a visual target as it zoomed around to different locations on a screen. As participants' eyes darted across the screen chasing a target, the researchers were tracking their rapid eye movements (also known as "saccades"). Saccades are the synchronized rapid movements both eyes make as your gaze and attention quickly shifts from one point of focus to another.
“These finding suggest that assessing the ability of people to adapt saccade amplitudes is one way to determine whether this function of the cerebellum is altered in ASD,” said Edward Freedman, Ph.D. an associate professor in the URMC Department of Neuroscience and co-author of the study.
“If these deficits do turn out to be a consistent finding in a sub-group of children with ASD, this raises the possibility that saccade adaptation measures may have utility as a method that will allow early detection of this disorder.”
► Learn more>> https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/5102/eye-test-could-help-diagnose-autism.aspx
► Image credit: 8thstar/CC 3.0>> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Human_eye#/media/File:A_blue_eye.jpg
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