Saccadic eye movements in normal children from 8 to 15 years of age: a developmental study of visuospatial attention.
This cross-sectional study used saccadic eye movements, as measured by infrared occulography, to assess several aspects of visuospatial attention in normal children ages 8-15 years. Saccadic latency (a global measure of the ability to shift visuospatial attention), the ability to suppress extraneous saccades during fixation, and the ability to inhibit task-provoked anticipatory saccades all improve with age. However, the pattern of development differs for different tasks; saccadic latency shortens at a linear rate across the age range 8-15 years, while the capacity to inhibit anticipatory saccades matures by 12-13 years of age, and the ability to suppress saccades matures by 10 years of age. Analyses of age-related changes in oculomotor measures of attention may provide a novel approach in the study of children with attentional difficulties.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington.
R G
RG
Ross
A D
AD
Radant
D A
DA
Young
D W
DW
Hommer
D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D012438:Saccades; D014796:Visual Perception