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Journal of Eye Movement Research is published by MDPI from Volume 18 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Bern Open Publishing (BOP).

J. Eye Mov. Res., Volume 15, Issue 1 (February 2022) – 6 articles

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29 pages, 3273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterising Eye Movement Events with an Unsupervised Hidden Markov Model

by Malte Lüken, Šimon Kucharský and Ingmar Visser

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-29; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.4 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 69

Abstract

Eye-tracking allows researchers to infer cognitive processes from eye movements that are classified into distinct events. Parsing the events is typically done by algorithms. Here we aim at developing an unsupervised, generative model that can be fitted to eye-movement data using maximum likelihood estimation. This approach allows hypothesis testing about fitted models, next to being a method for classification. We developed gazeHMM, an algorithm that uses a hidden Markov model as a generative model, has few critical parameters to be set by users, and does not require human coded data as input. The algorithm classifies gaze data into fixations, saccades, and optionally postsaccadic oscillations and smooth pursuits. We evaluated gazeHMM’s performance in a simulation study, showing that it successfully recovered hidden Markov model parameters and hidden states. Parameters were less well recovered when we included a smooth pursuit state and/or added even small noise to simulated data. We applied generative models with different numbers of events to benchmark data. Comparing them indicated that hidden Markov models with more events than expected had most likely generated the data. We also applied the full algorithm to benchmark data and assessed its similarity to human coding and other algorithms. For static stimuli, gazeHMM showed high similarity and outperformed other algorithms in this regard. For dynamic stimuli, gazeHMM tended to rapidly switch between fixations and smooth pursuits but still displayed higher similarity than most other algorithms. Concluding that gazeHMM can be used in practice, we recommend parsing smooth pursuits only for exploratory purposes. Future hidden Markov model algorithms could use covariates to better capture eye movement processes and explicitly model event durations to classify smooth pursuits more accurately. Full article

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14 pages, 763 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Video Game Training in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: An Exploratory Case Report Study Using Eye Tracking

by Elham Azizi, Joanne Fielding and Larry A. Abel

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-14; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.6 - 15 Jun 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 98

Abstract

Remediation of attentional impairments is an essential component of cognitive rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Evidence from healthy participants has demonstrated attentional improvement following playing an action video game. This exploratory study investigated its application in TBI participants in a multiple baselines single case experimental design (SCED). Saccadic eye movements, recognized as the visible indicators of visual attention, were assessed to evaluate the effectiveness of the game training. Three severe TBI participants were trained in an action game for 10 hours. Saccadic eye movements during a self-paced saccade and an abstract visual search task were investigated during baseline, mid training and post-training. Using Percentage of Non-overlapping Data (PND), analysis showed consistent increase in the rate of the self-paced saccades in participants 1 (PND = 80%) and 2 (PND = 70%). In abstract search, fixation duration showed a minimally effective decrease for participant 2 (PND= 60%) and a moderately effective reduction in participant 3 (PND = 80%). Search time showed a highly effective reduction in participant 2 (PND = 100%) and moderately effective decrease in participant 3 (PND = 70%). Overall, video game training might modify allocation of attention in eye movements. More evidence is required to validate the usefulness of this novel method of the cognitive training. Full article

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27 pages, 2010 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Word Length and Word Frequency Among Dyslexic, Adhd-I and Typical Readers

by Norberto Pereira, Maria Armanda Costa and Manuela Guerreiro

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-27; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.1 - 14 Jun 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 93

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the neuropsycholinguistic functioning of children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) in a reading task. The psycholinguistic profile of both groups was assessed using a battery of neuropsychological and linguistic tests and compared to typical readers. Participants were submitted to a silent reading task with lexical manipulation of the text. Eye movements were recorded and compared aiming to find cognitive processes involved in reading that could help differentiate groups. The study examined whether word-frequency and word-length effects distinguish between groups. Participants included 19 typical readers, 21 children diagnosed with ADHD-I and 19 children with DD. All participants were attending 4th grade and had a mean age of 9.08 years. Children with DD and ADHDI exhibited significant different cognitive and linguistic profiles on almost all measures evaluated when compared to typical readers. The effects of word length and word frequency interaction also differed significantly in the 3 experimental groups. The results support the multiple cognitive deficits theory. While the shared deficits support the evidence of a phonological disorder present in both conditions, the specific ones corroborate the hypothesis of an oculomotor dysfunction in DD and a visuo-spatial attention dysfunction in ADHD. Full article

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6 pages, 688 KiB

Open AccessArticle

New Device for Taking Nine-Directional Ocular Photographs: “9GAZE” Application

by Toshiaki Goseki, Keiko Kunimi, Naoko Shioya, Yuka Iijima, Manami Sebe, Karin Hosoya and Kyo Fukaya

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-6; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.5 - 6 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 89

Abstract

This study compared the time required to produce nine-directional ocular photographs using the conventional method to that using the newly devised 9Gaze application. In total, 20 healthy adults, 10 adult patients with strabismus, and 10 pediatric patients with amblyopia or strabismus had their ocular photographs taken using a digital camera with PowerPoint 2010, and with an iPad, and iPod touch with 9Gaze. Photographs of 10 healthy patients were taken by orthoptists with <1 year of experience, and the other participants had theirs taken by those with >1 year of experience. The required time was compared between the three devices in all patients and the two orthoptist groups in 20 healthy adults (>1 year and <1 year of experience). The required times were significantly different between the devices: 515.5 ± 187.0 s with the digital camera, 117.4 ± 17.8 s with the iPad, and 76.3 ± 14.1 sec with the iPod touch. The required time with the digital camera was significantly different between the two orthoptist groups (404.7 ± 150.8 vs. 626.3 ± 154.2 s, p = 0.007). The use of the 9Gaze application shortened the recording time required. Furthermore, 9Gaze can be used without considering the years of experience of the examiner. Full article

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7 pages, 3133 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visual Strategies of Young Soccer Players During a Passing Test—A Pilot Study

by Pieter Vansteenkiste, Matthieu Lenoir, Izabela Krejtz and Krzysztof Krejtz

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-7; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.3 - 21 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 72

Abstract

In sports, studies on visual behavior have mostly focused on expert-novice differences during decision making tasks and during aiming tasks. How visual behavior changes during the early stages of skill acquisition however, has hardly been documented. The current study investigated gaze behavior of young soccer players during the execution of a soccer passing task. Gaze behavior of eleven 8- to 10-year-old soccer players was recorded while they performed the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test. Based on their score, participants were then divided into a high performance group (N = 5), and a low performance group (N = 6). Results showed that the low performance group tended to look more at the ball while they were handling it. These findings suggest that gaze strategies develop alongside technical skills. More insights in the interplay between technical skills and gaze strategies during skill acquisition could lead to improved training methods for young soccer players. Full article

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19 pages, 889 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eye Tracking Applied to Tobacco Smoking: Current Directions and Future Perspectives

by Matteo Valsecchi and Maurizio Codispoti

J. Eye Mov. Res. 2022, 15(1), 1-19; https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.15.1.2 - 21 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 68

Abstract

Over the years the general awareness of the health costs associated with tobacco smoking has motivated scientists to apply the measurement of eye movements to this form of addiction. On one hand they have investigated whether smokers attend and look preferentially at smoking related scenes and objects. In parallel, on the other hand eye tracking has been used to test how smokers and nonsmokers interact with the different types of health warning that policymakers have mandated in tobacco advertisements and packages. Here we provide an overview of the main findings from the different lines of research, such as the evidence related to the attentional bias for smoking cues in smokers and the evidence that graphic warning labels and plain packages measurably increase the salience of the warning labels. We point to some open questions, such as the conditions that determine whether heavy smokers exhibit a tendency to actively avoid looking at graphic warning labels. Finally we argue that the research applied to gaze exploration of warning labels would benefit from a more widespread use of the more naturalistic testing conditions (e.g., mobile eye tracking or virtual reality) that have been introduced to study the smokers’ attentional bias for tobacco-related objects when freely exploring the surrounding environment. Full article

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