Eye Movements Features in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Preliminary Findings Based on a Head-mounted Intelligent Analysis System

Research Article

Austin J Clin Neurol. 2024; 11(1): 1166.

Eye Movements Features in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Preliminary Findings Based on a Head-mounted Intelligent Analysis System

Yun Huang1-3; Shuyun Huang3; Xia Xiang3; Pan Shang3; Chunyan Zhang3; Yajing Liu3; Meiqiu Li3; Jiali Luo3; Xiaoying Zhong3; Haiqun Xie3*; Hongzhen Zhou1*;

1Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

2School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

3First People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, Guangdong, China

*Corresponding author: Haiqun Xie, M.Med First People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, Guangdong, China; Hongzhen Zhou, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Email: haiqunx@foxmail.com; 913860896@QQ.com

Received: March 19, 2024 Accepted: April 24, 2024 Published: May 01, 2024

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed first to investigate the eye movement features of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) tested by a head-mounted intelligent analysis system and then explore the association between abnormal eye movement and aMCI.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, sixty-six participants were included, and forty (21 cognitively normal, CN; 19 aMCI) were analyzed finally. Neuropsychological battery tests were conducted to assess cognitive function, including global cognition and cognitive domains. Eye movement parameters were recorded using a head-mounted intelligent analysis system. The eye movement tasks contained fixation, smooth pursuit (horizontal and vertical), pro-saccade, and anti-saccade. To compare cognitive performance and eye movement parameters, t-tests or chi-square tests were appropriately used. Multi-variable regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of abnormal eye movement to aMCI.

Results: Compared to the CN group, the aMCI group had slower saccade velocity (p=0.016) in the anti-saccade task; significantly, they had greater total deviation (p < 0.05) and greater number of deviation (p < 0.01) (including horizontal and vertical). The great number of deviations in smooth pursuit tasks was the highest eye movement risk factor to aMCI after adjusting sex, age, and HAMD scores (horizontal smooth pursuit task, OR=1.07, CI,1.00~1.02; vertical smooth pursuit task, OR=1.09, CI, 1.03~1.15).

Conclusions: Patients with aMCI had poorer performance in eye movement in anti-saccades and smooth pursuit tasks than normal adults. The two tasks might be sensitive paradigm batteries for eye movements in aMCI.

Keywords: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Smooth pursuit tasks; Anti-saccade task; Number of deviation; Saccade velocity

Introduction

Over the past decades, life expectancy has been increasing rapidly worldwide. Age-related conditions, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other dementias, were the seventh leading cause of death in 2019 reported by the World Health Organization [1]. AD accounts for an estimated 60 - 80 % of dementia [2].

AD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss and slowly progressive multiple cognitive decline with functional impact [3]. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has been considered the preclinical stage of AD. Based on clinical presentation, MCI can be categorized as amnestic MCI (aMCI) and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI) [4]. Evidence found structural differences between aMCI and naMCI in certain brain regions, such as the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex [5]. People with aMCI are at much greater risk of progressing to AD than naMCI, with an annual conversion rate of 5-17% [6]. To date, there are no effective treatments for AD, especially for the middle and late phases of the disease. Thus, it is urgent to distinguish early and accurately to delay or prevent the condition's onset.

Recently, various approaches, such as amyloid beta testing both in blood and cerebrospinal fluid [7,8], amyloid-Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging [9], biological markers, and neuroimaging, have been proposed for screening and identification of MCI due to AD. Biological markers may offer the most promising path to detect MCI before symptoms [7]. Eye Movements (EMs) are becoming popular biological markers due to the development of accurate, affordable, moveable, and easy-to-use eye trackers. In contemporary neuroscience, EMs are vital in understanding cognition and behavior. Several decades of research have demonstrated that eye tracking can provide a wealth of information for cognition. Fixation, smooth pursuit, and saccades are the most common paradigms in EMs assessed for AD [10,11].

Evidence suggests that the performance of EMs could inform on impaired cognition of AD. Compared to healthy older, AD patients make more incorrect saccades and fewer corrections after committing an error [12]. In general, in saccades and smooth pursuit tasks, there appears to be slow saccades velocity, increased latency, and increased frequency of antisaccade errors due to the disease [13-15]. With impaired visuospatial judgment, mild AD patients made more errors on a spatial decision task than controls [16]. Furthermore, the performance in antisaccade tasks appears to be correlated with neuropsychological test scores, such as MMSE, backward digit span, Stroop inhibition, and verbal fluency [14,17].

Eye movement deficits may develop in the early course of AD. In the antisaccade paradigm, patients with MCI had a smaller proportion of correct responses and a higher frequency of errors than health control [18]. A strong correlation has been reported between antisaccade error rate and cortical thinning in MCI [19]. Further, previous work has shown that saccade paradigms could distinguish MCI from controls [15]. Also, eye movement parameters were stable indicators to distinguish MCI, which were not affected by different testing versions [20]. Furthermore, the EMs performance is strongly correlated with the severity of AD [21].

Few studies have investigated eye movements in aMCI. However, MCI was a heterogeneous condition. It is necessary to focus on the aMCI sub-type, which has a higher conversation rate to AD. One recent research using the EyeLink Desktop eye-tracker found that the aMCI group had longer mean latency and a higher proportion of anti-saccade errors than the control group [22]. Moreover, Chehrehnegar N et al. suggested that saccadic were sensitive measures to distinguish aMCI from normal participants; even more, these parameters were strongly correlated with neuropsychological measures [23]. The study used pro-/anti-saccade tasks and gap/overgap saccade paradigm to record eye movement by a remote desktop eye tracker. However, the scarcity of eye movement studies in aMCI necessitates further research to determine the features and degree of eye movement change in aMCI in different areas and with differing apparatuses.

Previous research has created a strong foundation for understanding AD-related changes to eye movements, but there still needs to be answers that merit further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the eye movement features of patients with aMCI by a head-mounted intelligent analysis system in China, then to explore the risk of abnormal eye movement to aMCI, to provide new evidence for developing a standardized eye tracking test battery for early identification of AD.

Materials and Methods

Participants

This study is a cross-sectional study. Sixty-six participants were enrolled in the Memory Disorders Clinic of the Department of Neurology at the First People's Hospital of Foshan between August 2022 and December 2022. Nine cases were excluded because of the diagnosis of AD; Seventeen cases were excluded because the eye movements and neuropsychological test data were unqualified (Figure 1). Forty participants were included for analysis. Nineteen participants were diagnosed with aMCI. Twenty-one Cognitive Normal (CN) older adults with matching demographic information (age, sex, and education level). Demographic characteristics,medical history, and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores were collected in face-to-face interviews. The inclusion criteria of the aMCI were detailed in our previous paper [24].