Abstract
A growing body of literature is focused on the use of eye tracking (ET) technology to understand the association between objective visual parameters and higher order brain processes such as cognition. One of the settings where this principle has found practical utility is in the area of driving safety. Methods: We reviewed the literature to identify the changes in ET parameters with older adults and neurodegenerative disease. Results: This narrative review provides a brief overview of oculomotor system anatomy and physiology, defines common eye movements and tracking variables that are typically studied, explains the most common methods of eye tracking measurements during driving in simulation and in naturalistic settings, and examines the association of impairment in ET parameters with advanced age and neurodegenerative disease. Conclusion: ET technology is becoming less expensive, more portable, easier to use, and readily applicable in a variety of clinical settings. Older adults and especially those with neurodegenerative disease may have impairments in visual search parameters, placing them at risk for motor vehicle crashes. Advanced driver assessment systems are becoming more ubiquitous in newer cars and may significantly reduce crashes related to impaired visual search, distraction, and/or fatigue.
Highlights
In both healthy and clinical populations, the visual paired comparison task (VPC) task as administered by eye tracking (ET) was found to be a good measure of recognition memory with the potential to predict normal adults who will convert to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) [19] and patients with
Clinicians can grossly examine important eye tracking variables such as saccades and smooth pursuit, which can assist with the diagnosis of common neurodegenerative diseases
Initial studies that focused on driving and ET used simulators, but equipment allows for the accurate study of driving behavior in naturalistic settings
Summary
A growing body of literature focuses on the use of eye tracking (ET) technology to understand the association between objective visual parameters and higher order brain processes such as cognition. One of the settings where this principle has found practical utility is in the area of driving safety. The purposes of this manuscript are: (a) to review the visual system neuroanatomy and physiology;. (b) to describe the clinical bedside exam of eye movements; (c) to describe methodologies to capture eye movements using current technology; (d) to summarize current findings on eye tracking parameters, aging and neurological disease; and (e) to review studies to date on eye tracking and driving. It is hoped that this overview will be useful for both clinicians and scientists as we continue to unravel the complex relationships between aging, neurological disease, driving safety, and countermeasures to decrease crash risk
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