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The Potential Utility of Eye Movements in the Detection and Characterization of Everyday Functional Difficulties in Mild Cognitive Impairment

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Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to the intermediate period between the typical cognitive decline of normal aging and more severe decline associated with dementia, and it is associated with greater risk for progression to dementia. Research has suggested that functional abilities are compromised in MCI, but the degree of impairment and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The development of sensitive measures to assess subtle functional decline poses a major challenge for characterizing functional limitations in MCI. Eye-tracking methodology has been used to describe visual processes in everyday, naturalistic action among healthy older adults as well as several case studies of severely impaired individuals, and it has successfully differentiated healthy older adults from those with MCI on specific visual tasks. These studies highlight the promise of eye-tracking technology as a method to characterize subtle functional decline in MCI. However, to date no studies have examined visual behaviors during completion of naturalistic tasks in MCI. This review describes the current understanding of functional ability in MCI, summarizes findings of eye-tracking studies in healthy individuals, severe impairment, and MCI, and presents future research directions to aid with early identification and prevention of functional decline in disorders of aging.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-114462. The authors would like to thank Kathryn Devlin and Emma Rhodes for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th Street, 6th Floor Weiss Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Sarah C. Seligman & Tania Giovannetti

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  1. Sarah C. Seligman
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  2. Tania Giovannetti
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Correspondence to Tania Giovannetti.

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Seligman, S.C., Giovannetti, T. The Potential Utility of Eye Movements in the Detection and Characterization of Everyday Functional Difficulties in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Neuropsychol Rev 25, 199–215 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-015-9283-z

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