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 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

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 Hypothalamic neuronal circuits regulating hunger-induced taste modification

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ou Fu ◽  
Yuu Iwai ◽  
Masataka Narukawa ◽  
Ayako W. Ishikawa ◽  
Kentaro K. Ishii ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Hypothalamus ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Taste Preference ◽  
Lateral Septum ◽  
Gustatory System ◽  
Lateral Habenula ◽  
Mechanistic Insight ◽  
Aversive Taste ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Internal States

Abstract The gustatory system plays a critical role in sensing appetitive and aversive taste stimuli for evaluating food quality. Although taste preference is known to change depending on internal states such as hunger, a mechanistic insight remains unclear. Here, we examine the neuronal mechanisms regulating hunger-induced taste modification. Starved mice exhibit an increased preference for sweetness and tolerance for aversive taste. This hunger-induced taste modification is recapitulated by selective activation of orexigenic Agouti-related peptide (AgRP)-expressing neurons in the hypothalamus projecting to the lateral hypothalamus, but not to other regions. Glutamatergic, but not GABAergic, neurons in the lateral hypothalamus function as downstream neurons of AgRP neurons. Importantly, these neurons play a key role in modulating preferences for both appetitive and aversive tastes by using distinct pathways projecting to the lateral septum or the lateral habenula, respectively. Our results suggest that these hypothalamic circuits would be important for optimizing feeding behavior under fasting.

scholarly journals 0067 An Anatomic Substrate for GABAergic Processes to Suppress Active Sleep and Promote Wakefulness in the Nucleus Pontis Oralis

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A27-A27
Author(s):  
J Zhang ◽  
S Sampogna ◽  
M Xi ◽  
S J Fung ◽  
C Tobin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polyclonal Antibodies ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Gabaergic Inhibition ◽  
Active Sleep ◽  
Neuronal Somata ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Adult Cats ◽  
Fluorescence Immunohistochemistry ◽  
Anatomical Evidence

Abstract Introduction Our previous electrophysiologic data have provided compelling evidence that GABAergic processes in the nucleus pontis oralis (NPO) play a critical role in the generation and maintenance of wakefulness as well as active (REM) sleep (AS). We therefore hypothesized that one of the neuronal mechanisms of GABA actions in the NPO to promote wakefulness and suppress AS is due to a direct GABAergic inhibition of NPO neurons that generate AS (AS-generator neurons). However, the anatomical substrate for this inhibition is undetermined. Accordingly, the present study was undertaken to examine whether there is any direct interaction between GABAergic neurons and glutamatergic AS-generator neurons in the NPO. Methods Adult cats were deeply anesthetized and perfused transcardially. The brainstem containing the NPO was removed, postfixed and cut into 15 μm coronal sections with a Reichert-Jung cryostat. The sections were incubated with a mixture of a rabbit polyclonal antibodies against glutamine and GABA following the procedure of double fluorescence immunohistochemistry. Results There was a large number of neuronal somata labeled by anti-glutamine antibody and terminals labeled by anti-GABA antibody in the NPO. These glutamine-positive neurons were medium to large, multipolar cells (> 20 μm), which resemble glutamatergic, AS-generator neurons that have been previously identified in the NPO. Specifically, majority of glutamatergic neuronal somata were closely apposed by multiple GABAergic terminals, indicating that AS-generator neurons in the NPO receive direct GABAergic inputs. Conclusion The present results demonstrate that a direct connection exists between glutamatergic AS-generator neurons and GABAergic processes in the NPO. These data provide the anatomical evidence which supports our hypothesis that the pontine GABAergic control of wakefulness and active sleep is partially mediated via GABAergic processes project to NPO AS-generator neurons that suppress the activity of these cells. Support NS092383

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.

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