Ma Xiao-Ting, Yao Lin-Lin, Liu Shan-Wen, Weng Xiao-Fen, Bao Run-Ying, Yang Yi-Fan, Li Yi-Feng, Sun Yan-Yun, Xu Dan, Jia Zhen-Yu, Hu Hua
Department of Neurology and Suzhou Clinical Research Center of Neurological Disease, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 1055, Sanxiang Road, Suzhou, 215004, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, 215000, China.
Exp Brain Res. 2025 Jan 4;243(1):39. doi: 10.1007/s00221-024-06957-x.
This study investigated the relationship between eye movement parameters and cognitive function in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 80 patients with AD (mild and moderate) and 34 normal controls (NC) participated. Neuropsychological assessments were conducted using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), while eye movements were recorded using eye-tracking technology. Comparisons of neuropsychological scores and eye movement parameters were made across the groups, and partial correlation analysis was performed to examine associations between eye movement metrics and specific cognitive domains. No significant differences were found among the groups in pursuit and fixation tasks. However, in pro-saccade tasks, patients in the moderate AD group exhibited significantly lower accuracy and longer latency compared to those in the mild AD and NC groups. Similarly, in anti-saccade tasks, the moderate AD group showed significantly lower accuracy and error correction rates compared to the other groups. Partial correlation analysis revealed that overall cognitive function was positively associated with the accuracy of pro-saccade and anti-saccade tasks, as well as the error correction rate of anti-saccade tasks, but negatively associated with pro-saccade latency. Further, orientation was negatively correlated with saccade latency and positively correlated with saccade accuracy, while visuospatial skills were positively associated with the accuracy of both saccade and anti-saccade tasks. A positive correlation was also observed between word fluency and both saccade accuracy and error correction rate. These findings indicate that eye movement parameters, particularly those related to saccade and anti-saccade tasks, are associated with various cognitive domains in mild to moderate AD patients. Eye-tracking technology may provide a convenient and non-invasive tool for assessing cognitive function and aiding in the diagnosis and evaluation of AD.
本研究调查了轻度至中度阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者的眼动参数与认知功能之间的关系。共有80例AD患者（轻度和中度）和34名正常对照者（NC）参与。使用简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）和蒙特利尔认知评估量表（MoCA）进行神经心理学评估，同时使用眼动追踪技术记录眼动情况。对各组的神经心理学评分和眼动参数进行比较，并进行偏相关分析以检验眼动指标与特定认知领域之间的关联。在追踪和注视任务中，各组之间未发现显著差异。然而，在顺向扫视任务中，中度AD组患者的准确性显著低于轻度AD组和NC组，潜伏期更长。同样，在反向扫视任务中，中度AD组的准确性和错误纠正率显著低于其他组。偏相关分析显示，总体认知功能与顺向扫视和反向扫视任务的准确性以及反向扫视任务的错误纠正率呈正相关，但与顺向扫视潜伏期呈负相关。此外，定向与扫视潜伏期呈负相关，与扫视准确性呈正相关，而视觉空间技能与扫视和反向扫视任务的准确性均呈正相关。在词汇流畅性与扫视准确性和错误纠正率之间也观察到正相关。这些发现表明，眼动参数，尤其是与扫视和反向扫视任务相关的参数，与轻度至中度AD患者的各种认知领域相关。眼动追踪技术可能为评估认知功能以及辅助AD的诊断和评估提供一种方便且无创的工具。
