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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.
The investigators study aims to evaluate the utility of eye vergence, an eye-tracking measure, as an indicator of visuo-spatial attention in children aged 4-17 years and adults, using computer-based eye-tracking tasks. Eye vergence, a binocular movement crucial for depth perception, has recently been linked to attentional control and neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) like ADHD and ASD. The investigators will work with children and adults from the CAN and Beckenham clinical centres to explore the relationship between eye vergence and diagnostic categories, potentially identifying subgroups with specific or overlapping attentional differences. This research may aid in the early detection of attention deficits, informing targeted treatments.
The investigators will compare neuropsychological and behavioural data from routine clinical sessions with neurophysiological data collected via eye-tracking in a large sample of children aged 7-17 and adults with ADHD and ASD. These clinical measures are well-validated. The study will assess the modulation of eye vergence, pupil size, and head movements across tasks that target different attentional processes, such as orienting, disengaging, inhibiting, and sustaining attention. These tasks will be adapted from both Braingaze's battery and other validated eye-tracking tasks.
Additionally, the investigators will explore whether AI can enhance the accuracy of rating scales and questionnaires used to measure ADHD and ASD symptoms in children and adults. With consent, the investigators will use data from previously diagnosed patients collected during routine assessments at the CAN and Beckenham centres.
The investigators will also test the accuracy of using a smartphone selfie camera as an eye tracker. In a subset of 50 children (25 clinical and 25 controls), the investigators will evaluate this technology for its ability to measure eye vergence and identify attentional differences.
This study qualifies as basic science because it aims to explore fundamental mechanisms of eye vergence and its relationship with attention, rather than evaluating or marketing a medical device for diagnosis or treatment. The primary objective is to understand how eye vergence, as a neurophysiological measure, correlates with attentional processes in individuals with ADHD and ASD. Although the study utilizes an eye-tracking device, it does so as a research tool to collect data on visual and cognitive processes. The focus is on expanding the knowledge of cognitive function and attention regulation in neurodevelopmental conditions, not on testing or validating the device for clinical use. This distinction makes the study appropriate for review by the receiving REC as basic scientific research, rather than as a clinical trial of a medical device.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
"Romeo A, Leonovych O, Sole Puig M, Super H. Cognitive Vergence Recorded with a Webcam-Based Eye-Tracker during an Oddball Task in an Elderly Population. Sensors (Basel). 2024 Jan 30;24(3):888. doi: 10.3390/s24030888."; "38339605"; "Hashemi, A. et al. (2023) 'Classification of MCI patients using vergence eye movements and pupil responses obtained during a visual oddball test', Aging and Health Research, 3(1), p. 100121. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2023.100121"; null; "Bast N, Boxhoorn S, Super H, Helfer B, Polzer L, Klein C, Cholemkery H, Freitag CM. Atypical Arousal Regulation in Children With Autism but Not With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as Indicated by Pupillometric Measures of Locus Coeruleus Activity. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2023 Jan;8(1):11-20. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.04.010. Epub 2021 Apr 27."; "33930603"; "Bustos-Valenzuela, P. et al. (2022) 'Atypical cognitive vergence responses in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but not with autism spectrum disorder in a facial emotion recognition task', Psychiatry Research Communications, 2(2), p. 100045. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psycom.2022.100045"; null; "Jimenez EC, Sierra-Marcos A, Romeo A, Hashemi A, Leonovych O, Bustos Valenzuela P, Sole Puig M, Super H. Altered Vergence Eye Movements and Pupil Response of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment During an Oddball Task. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;82(1):421-433. doi: 10.3233/JAD-201301."; "34024820"; "Jimenez EC, Avella-Garcia C, Kustow J, Cubbin S, Corrales M, Richarte V, Esposito FL, Morata I, Perera A, Varela P, Canete J, Faraone SV, Super H, Ramos-Quiroga JA. Eye Vergence Responses During an Attention Task in Adults With ADHD and Clinical Controls. J Atten Disord. 2021 Jul;25(9):1302-1310. doi: 10.1177/1087054719897806. Epub 2020 Jan 20."; "31959011"; "Sole Puig M, Romeo A, Super H. Vergence eye movements during figure-ground perception. Conscious Cogn. 2021 Jul;92:103138. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103138. Epub 2021 May 19."; "34022640"; "Jimenez EC, Romeo A, Perez Zapata L, Sole Puig M, Bustos-Valenzuela P, Canete J, Varela Casal P, Super H. Eye vergence responses in children with and without reading difficulties during a word detection task. Vision Res. 2020 Apr;169:6-11. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2020.02.001. Epub 2020 Mar 3."; "32143068"; "Boxhoorn S, Bast N, Super H, Polzer L, Cholemkery H, Freitag CM. Pupil dilation during visuospatial orienting differentiates between autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020 May;61(5):614-624. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13179. Epub 2019 Dec 18."; "31853987"; "Esposito FL, Super H. Eye vergence responses to novel and familiar stimuli in young children. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2019 Feb;193:190-196. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2019.01.007. Epub 2019 Jan 15."; "30654274"; "Esposito FL, Super H. Vergence responses to face stimuli in young children. Neuroreport. 2018 Feb 7;29(3):219-223. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000963."; "29324520"; "Super, H. et al. (2017) 'Neurobiological marker for child and adult ADHD diagnoses', European Psychiatry, 41(S1), pp. S454-S455. Available at: https://doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.489"; null; "Sole Puig M, Romeo A, Canete Crespillo J, Super H. Eye vergence responses during a visual memory task. Neuroreport. 2017 Feb 8;28(3):123-127. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000734."; "28121809"; "Sole Puig M, Pallares JM, Perez Zapata L, Puigcerver L, Canete J, Super H. Attentional Selection Accompanied by Eye Vergence as Revealed by Event-Related Brain Potentials. PLoS One. 2016 Dec 14;11(12):e0167646. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167646. eCollection 2016."; "27973591"; "Sole Puig M, Perez Zapata L, Puigcerver L, Esperalba Iglesias N, Sanchez Garcia C, Romeo A, Canete Crespillo J, Super H. Attention-Related Eye Vergence Measured in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. PLoS One. 2015 Dec 22;10(12):e0145281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145281. eCollection 2015."; "26694162"; "Sole Puig M, Puigcerver L, Aznar-Casanova JA, Super H. Difference in visual processing assessed by eye vergence movements. PLoS One. 2013 Sep 19;8(9):e72041. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072041. eCollection 2013."; "24069140"; "Sole Puig M, Perez Zapata L, Aznar-Casanova JA, Super H. A role of eye vergence in covert attention. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e52955. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052955. Epub 2013 Jan 31."; "23382827"
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The study is sponsored by Elizabeth Kilbey and is in collaboration with Braingaze.
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