Eye gaze and pupillary response in Angelman syndrome

Abstract

Background: Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by severe developmental disability, communication impairment, elevated seizure risk, and motor system abnormalities.

Aims: The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility of social scene eye tracking and pupillometry measures in individuals with AS and to compare the performance of AS participants to individuals with idiopathic Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typically developing controls (TDC).

Methods and procedures: Individuals with AS and age- and gender- matched controls completed a social eye tracking paradigm. Neurobehavioral characterization of AS participants was completed via a battery of psychological testing and caregiver behavioral evaluations.

Outcomes and results: Eight of seventeen recruited AS participants completed the eye tracking paradigm. Compared to TDC, AS subjects demonstrated significantly less preference for social scenes than geometric shapes. Additionally, AS subjects showed less pupil dilation, compared to TDC, when viewing social scenes versus geometric shapes. There was no statistically significant difference found between AS and ASD subjects in either social eye tracking or pupillometry.

Conclusions and implications: The use of eye tracking and pupillometry may represent an innovative measure for quantifying AS-associated impairments in social salience.

Keywords: Angelman syndrome; Developmental disabilities; Eye tracking; Pupillometry.