Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements as a Biomarker for Mild Concussion within 7-Days of Injury

Deficits in smooth-pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are often associated with mild traumatic brain injury(TBI). Eye tracking tests serve as a quick objective clinical tool to assess such predictive visual tracking. In this study, SPEM was assessed along circular, horizontal and vertical trajectories in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain injury 2021-12, Vol.35 (14), p.1682-1689
Main Authors: Hunfalvay, Melissa, Murray, Nicholas P., Mani, Revathy, Carrick, Frederick Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Biomarkers
Brain Concussion - complications
Brain Concussion - diagnosis
concussion
Eye Movements
eye tracking
Humans
oculomotor
Pursuit, Smooth
Saccades
smooth-pursuit eye movements
SPEM
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Summary:Deficits in smooth-pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are often associated with mild traumatic brain injury(TBI). Eye tracking tests serve as a quick objective clinical tool to assess such predictive visual tracking. In this study, SPEM was assessed along circular, horizontal and vertical trajectories in adolescents with concussion and age-matched controls. Ninety-one young adolescents with concussion and 140 visually healthy age-matched controls with a mean age of 14 years performed a computerized test of circular, horizontal and vertical tracking task using an eye tracker. Oculomotor tracking was assessed by computing the rate of fixation, saccades and SPEM made while performing the tasks. The predictive visual tracking task was able to differentiate the TBI group from the non-TBI group. The TBI group showed a significant difference in the fixation, saccades and SPEM percentages for circular tracking movement compared to the controls. There was a significant difference in fixation and SPEM % for horizontal and vertical tracking. Predictive visual tracking, assessed using eye tracking technology, is able to differentiate deficits in oculomotor functions in individuals with and without concussion. The eye tracking technology may serve as a quick objective tool to detect and monitor neural deficits due to TBI.
ISSN:0269-9052
1362-301X
DOI:10.1080/02699052.2021.2012825