scholarly journals Neural evidence for lexical parafoveal processing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Pan ◽  
Steven Frisson ◽  
Ole Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Parafoveal Processing ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Fluent Reading ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Individual Reading

AbstractIn spite of the reduced visual acuity, parafoveal information plays an important role in natural reading. However, competing models on reading disagree on whether words are previewed parafoveally at the lexical level. We find neural evidence for lexical parafoveal processing by combining a rapid invisible frequency tagging (RIFT) approach with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and eye-tracking. In a silent reading task, target words are tagged (flickered) subliminally at 60 Hz. The tagging responses measured when fixating on the pre-target word reflect parafoveal processing of the target word. We observe stronger tagging responses during pre-target fixations when followed by low compared with high lexical frequency targets. Moreover, this lexical parafoveal processing is associated with individual reading speed. Our findings suggest that reading unfolds in the fovea and parafovea simultaneously to support fluent reading.

scholarly journals Lexical parafoveal previewing predicts reading speed

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Pan ◽  
Steven Frisson ◽  
Ole Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Fluent Reading ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Individual Reading

Abstract While reading is an essential human skill, the neuronal mechanisms supporting proficient reading are not well understood. In spite of the reduced visual acuity, parafoveal information plays a critical role in natural reading. However, it is debated whether words are previewed parafoveally at the lexical level. This is a key dispute for competing models on reading. We found neural evidence for lexical parafoveal previewing by combining a novel rapid invisible frequency tagging (RIFT) approach with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and eye-tracking. In a silent reading task, target words were tagged (flickered) subliminally at 60 Hz. The tagging responses measured when fixating on the pre-target word reflected parafoveal previewing of the target word. We observed stronger tagging responses during pre-target fixations when followed by low compared to high lexical frequency targets. Moreover, this lexical previewing predicted individual reading speed. Our findings demonstrate that reading unfolds in the fovea and parafovea simultaneously to support fluent reading.

scholarly journals Lexical parafoveal previewing predicts reading speed

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Pan ◽  
Steven Frisson ◽  
Ole Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Individual Reading ◽  
Target Words

AbstractWhile reading is an essential human skill, many of the neuronal mechanisms supporting reading are not well understood. In spite of the reduced visual acuity, parafoveal information plays a critical role in natural reading1; however, it is strongly debated whether words are previewed parafoveally at the lexical level2–9. This is a key dispute for competing models on reading and of great significance since lexical retrieval is important for guiding eye movements. We found evidence for parafoveal previewing at the lexical level by combining a novel rapid invisible frequency tagging (RIFT)10, 11 approach with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and eye-tracking. In a silent reading task, target words of either low or high lexical frequency were tagged (flickered) subliminally at 60 Hz. The tagging response measured when fixating on the pre-target word reflected parafoveal previewing of the target word. We observed a stronger tagging response as early as 100 ms following fixations on pre-target words that were followed by target words of low compared with high lexical frequency. Moreover, the difference in tagging response with respect to target lexicality predicted individual reading speed. Our findings demonstrate that reading unfolds in the fovea and parafovea simultaneously to support fluent reading.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Commercial, Off-the-Shelf (COTS) King-Devick Eye Tracking System

2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 571-578
Author(s):  
Paul St Onge ◽  
Leonard A Temme ◽  
Aaron McAtee ◽  
Kevin J O’Brien ◽  
Brigid K Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Early Model ◽  
Test And Evaluation ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Return To Duty ◽  
Individual Reading

Abstract Concussion biomarkers are important guides for diagnosis and return-to-duty decisions. Recent literature describes the King-Devick (KD) test as a sensitive sports-related concussion screener. This test involves timing an individual reading aloud 120 digits printed on three test cards. The test is commonly considered to evaluate the effects of concussion and other factors on reading-related eye movements (EMs). However, the extent to which the KD test reflects EMs remains a matter of conjecture since the test reports only reading speed and number of errors. An off-the-shelf, computerized KD with eye tracking system recently became commercially available. Two early model KD with eye tracking systems were purchased in 2015 and evaluated before deploying them for research. The evaluation consisted of two studies; one with 20 volunteers assessing the comparability of the two systems and the other with 5 volunteers to quantify the systems’ stability and repeatability over 5 successive days. The results showed that several of the systems’ reported EM response parameters lacked face validity; consequently, the systems could not be used for scientific research. This conclusion emphasizes the importance of systematic test and evaluation of new equipment before it is used for research.

Feasibility of Eye Movement Recordings with the SMI Tracking Bar in 10- to 11-Year-Old Children Performing a Reading Task

2020 ◽  
Vol 237 (04) ◽  
pp. 510-516
Author(s):  
Jason Wertli ◽  
Andreas Schötzau ◽  
S. Trauzettel-Klosinski ◽  
Anja Palmowski-Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Visual Field Defects ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Red Eye ◽  
Reading Errors ◽  
Eye Movements During Reading

Abstract Introduction Eye movements during reading can be impaired in amblyopia, developmental dyslexia, reduced visual acuity, or visual field defects. To detect pathology, normative values are important for comparison. In healthy children, there is sparse data on eye movements during reading. Therefore, the aim of this study was to, in a first step, explore the feasibility of applying the SMI RED eye tracker bar to record eye movements in 10- and 11-year-old children while reading a text. Materials and Methods Thirty-three (19 aged 10 years, 14 aged 11 years) normally sighted children attending a primary school in Switzerland participated in our study. Visual acuity, the Lang test, and the cover test were performed as a screening for ophthalmologic pathology that might influence the results. Eye movements were recorded with the SMI RED eye tracker bar while the child read aloud two texts from the International Reading Speed Test (IReST), presented on a laptop. Both texts were in German with an equal level of difficulty and were presented in a randomized order. Reading speed (words/minute), number of saccades, number of fixations, and reading errors (mistakes in the reading) were evaluated. Results Screening did not reveal pathology other than refractive errors and children had full corrected visual acuity. Eye movements could be obtained in all but six children where the reflection of the glasses worn prevented a good pupil recording with the tracker. Younger children performed more saccades per word with a mean of 1.41 (SD 0.39) at 10 years of age versus 1.10 (SD 0.21) at 11 years of age. The number of fixations per word was also higher in younger children (mean: 1.63 [SD 0.37]) than in 11-year-old children (mean: 1.32 [SD 0.33]). Ten-year-old children seem to analyze a text in smaller units than 11-year-olds. Thus, 10-year-old children took more time to complete the reading task than the 11-year-olds (mean: 88.8 s [SD 24.1] versus 84.4 s [SD 15.1]). In addition, 10-year-old children made more reading errors compared to 11-year-olds (mean: 4.47 [SD 2.95] versus 2.28 [SD 1.72]). Conclusion It is feasible to record eye movements in children aged 10 – 11, albeit this is more difficult when glasses are worn. As parameters change with age, further data is needed for a representative evaluation regarding eye movements during reading in children of different age groups. The information gained may offer help in recognizing reading difficulties and monitoring of treatment effects.

scholarly journals Using Eye-Tracking Measures to Predict Reading Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Caroline Meziere ◽  
Lili Yu ◽  
Erik Reichle ◽  
Titus von der Malsburg ◽  
Genevieve McArthur
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Comprehension Tests ◽  
Reading Comprehension Tests

Research on reading comprehension assessments suggests that they measure overlapping but not identical cognitive skills. In this paper, we examined the potential of eye-tracking as a tool for assessing reading comprehension. We administered three widely-used reading comprehension tests with varying task demands to 79 typical adult readers while monitoring their eye movements. In the York Assessment for Reading Comprehension (YARC), participants were given passages of text to read silently, followed by comprehension questions. In the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5), participants were given passages of text to read aloud, followed by comprehension questions. In the sentence comprehension subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4), participants were given sentences with a missing word to read silently, and had to provide the missing word (i.e., a cloze task). Results from linear models predicting comprehension scores from eye-tracking measures yielded different patterns of results between the three tests. Models with eye-tracking measures always explained significantly more variance compared to baseline models with only reading speed, with R-squared 4 times higher for the YARC, 3 times for the GORT, and 1.3 times for the WRAT. Importantly, despite some similarities between the tests, no common good predictor of comprehension could be identified across the tests. Overall, the results suggest that reading comprehension tests do not measure the same cognitive skills to the same extent, and that participants adapted their reading strategies to the tests’ varying task demands. Finally, this study suggests that eye-tracking may provide a useful alternative for measuring reading comprehension.

scholarly journals Automated visual acuity evaluation based on preferential looking technique and controlled with remote eye tracking

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nika Vrabič ◽  
Bor Juroš ◽  
Manca Tekavčič Pompe
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Preferential Looking ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Average Luminance ◽  
Visual Acuity Test ◽  
Acuity Test ◽  
Preverbal Children

Objective. To establish an automated visual acuity test (AVAT) for infants, based on preferential looking technique and controlled with remote eye tracking. To validate the AVAT in a group of healthy children. To compare AVAT visual acuity (VA) values with corresponding VA values, acquired with standard tests (ST). Methods. ST, adapted for age (Keeler acuity cards in preverbal children, LEA symbols in verbal children), was performed to obtain monocular VA in a group of 36 healthy children. During AVAT, nine different stimuli with grating circles that matched spatial frequencies of nine Keeler acuity cards (raging between 0.29–14.5 cycles per degree) were projected on a screen. Three repetitions of each stimulus were showed during nine-second intervals, interchanging with an attention grabber. The remote eye tracker was used to evaluate the proportion of time a child spent looking at each grating circle compared to a homogenous grey background that matched the grating stimuli in average luminance. From this proportion of time child's binocular VA was evaluated. Results. 97 % (35/36) of healthy children successfully completed ST and AVAT. There was an agreement between the results of a ST and AVAT, Lin’s concordance coefficient being 0,53 (95% CI= 0,31–0,72). A tendency was observed towards VA overestimation on AVAT for children with VA> 0.4 logMAR on ST and towards VA underestimation on AVAT for children with VA ≤ 0.4 logMAR on ST. Conclusions. AVAT requires a minimally skilled investigator. The evaluation of better eye monocular VA on ST and binocular VA on AVAT were comparable for healthy children.

Orthographic and phonological parafoveal processing of consonants, vowels, and tones when reading Thai

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
HEATHER WINSKEL
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Lexical Tone ◽  
Parafoveal Processing ◽  
Subsequent Processing ◽  
Target Words

ABSTRACTFour eye movement experiments investigated whether readers use parafoveal input to gain information about the phonological or orthographic forms of consonants, vowels, and tones in word recognition when reading Thai silently. Target words were presented in sentences preceded by parafoveal previews in which consonant, vowel, or tone information was manipulated. Previews of homophonous consonants (Experiment 1) and concordant vowels (Experiment 2) did not substantially facilitate processing of the target word, whereas the identical previews did. Hence, orthography appears to be playing the prominent role in early word recognition for consonants and vowels. Incorrect tone marker previews (Experiment 3) substantially retarded the subsequent processing of the target word, indicating that lexical tone plays an important role in early word recognition. Vowels in VOP (Experiment 4) did not facilitate processing, which points to vowel position being a significant factor. Primarily, orthographic codes of consonants and vowels (HOP) in conjunction with tone information are assembled from parafoveal input and used for early lexical access.

scholarly journals The STArgardt Remofuscin Treatment Trial (STARTT): design and baseline characteristics of enrolled Stargardt patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Patty P.A. Dhooge ◽  
Philipp T. Möller ◽  
Camiel J.F. Boon ◽  
Andrew J. Lotery ◽  
Philipp Herrmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Function ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Outcome Measure ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Primary Outcome Measure ◽  
Treatment Trial ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Baseline Characteristics ◽  
Sd Oct

Background: This report describes the study design and baseline characteristics of patients with Stargardt disease (STGD1) enrolled in the STArgardt Remofuscin Treatment Trial (STARTT). Methods: In total, 87 patients with genetically confirmed STGD1 were randomized in a double-masked, placebo-controlled proof of concept trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 20 milligram oral remofuscin for 24 months. The primary outcome measure is change in mean quantitative autofluorescence value of an 8-segment ring centred on the fovea (qAF8). Secondary efficacy variables are best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), low-luminance visual acuity (LLVA), mesopic microperimetry (mMP),  spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), reading speed on Radner reading charts, and patient-reported visual function as assessed by the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire 25 (NEI VFQ-25) and Functional Reading Independence (FRI) Index. Results: Mean age of participants was 35±11 years with 49 (56%) female. Median qAF8 value was 438 Units (range 210-729). Median BCVA and LLVA in decimal units were 0.50 (range 0.13-0.80) and 0.20 (range 0.06-0.63), respectively. The median of the mean retinal sensitivity with mMP was 20.4 dB (range 0.0-28.8). SD-OCT showed median central subfield retinal thickness of 142 µm (range 72-265) and median macular volume of 1.65 mm3 (range 1.13-2.19). Compared to persons without vision impairment, both reading performance and patient-reported visual function were significantly lower (p<0.001, one sample t-test). Mean reading speed was 108±39 words/minute with logRAD-score of 0.45±0.28. Mean VFQ-25 composite score was 72±13. Mean FRI Index score 2.8±0.6. Conclusions: This trial design may serve as reference for future clinical trials as it explores the utility of qAF8 as primary outcome measure. The baseline data represent the largest, multi-national, STGD1 cohort to date that underwent standardized qAF imaging, reading speed assessment and vision-related quality of life measures which all contribute to the characterization of STGD1. EudraCT registration: 2018-001496-20 (09/05/2019)

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