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Visual working memory performance based on fixations and saccades in children with and without specific learning disorder: An eye-tracking study

Written by Shamim Razaghi Kashani, Mahnaz Akhavan Tafti, Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi, Mohammad Javad Asghari Ebrahimabad on . Posted in Volume XXII, Nr 4

Authors

Shamim Razaghi Kashani1, Mahnaz Akhavan Tafti1*, Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi2, Mohammad Javad Asghari Ebrahimabad3

1Department of Educational Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
2Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
3Department of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that children with specific learning disorders (SLDs) have deficits in visual processing and working memory. The aim of this research was to investigate potential SLD-related visual working memory deficits based on a behavioral neuroscience method, using an eye-tracking measure. The participants included two groups of twelve children each: (1) with SLD (Mage = 10.92 years) and (2) without SLD (Mage = 12.50 years). For measuring visual working memory, a Corsi block computerized task was used, whereas eye-tracking was used for recording the fixation time, fixation duration, fixation frequency, saccade duration, saccade frequency, saccade amplitude, saccade latency, and saccade velocity. The analyses revealed a significant difference in indicators of the Corsi block performance (block span, memory span, and the total score), children with SLD displaying a poorer performance compared to those without SLD. Eye tracking data also illustrated differences between the two groups, indicating that children with SLDs displayed higher fixations frequencies, as well as lower saccade duration and lower saccade amplitude. Given these findings, further studies regarding neural mechanisms of the visual working memory in SLDs are needed for better clarification of such deficits.

Keywords: visual working memory, fixation, saccade, specific learning disorder, eye-tracking

PAGES:233-245

doi:10.24193/cbb.2018.22.15

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