Eye Movement Differences in Contact Versus Non-Contact Olympic Athletes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in oculomotor functioning between Olympic-level contact and non-contact sports participants. In total, 67 male and female Olympic-level contact (n = 27) and non-contact (n = 40) athletes completed oculomotor tasks, including Horizontal Saccade (HS), Circular Smooth Pursuit (CSP), Horizontal Smooth Pursuit (HSP), and Vertical Smooth Pursuit (VSP) using a remote eye tracker. No significant differences for sex or age occurred. Each variable indicated higher scores for contact compared to non-contact athletes (p < .05) except for VSP Pathway differences and CSP Synchronization. A logistic regression was performed to determine the degree that HS measures, CSP synchronization, and VSP pathway predicted sport type. The model was significant, χ2(6) = 37.08, p < .001, explaining 57.4% of the variance and correctly classified 88.1% of cases. The sensitivity was 87.5% and specificity was 88.9%. CSP synchronization did not increase the likelihood of participating in a contact sport. This was the first study to identify oculomotor differences between Olympic athletes of contact and non-contact sports, which adds to the growing evidence that oculomotor functioning may be a reliable, quick, real-time tool to help detect mTBI in sport.

Age-Based Developmental Biomarkers in Eye Movements: A Retrospective Analysis Using Machine Learning.

This study aimed to identify when and how eye movements change across the human lifespan to benchmark developmental biomarkers. The sample size comprised 45,696 participants, ranging in age from 6 to 80 years old (M = 30.39; SD = 17.46). Participants completed six eye movement tests: Circular Smooth Pursuit, Horizontal Smooth Pursuit, Vertical Smooth Pursuit, Horizontal Saccades, Vertical Saccades, and Fixation Stability. These tests examined all four major eye movements (fixations, saccades, pursuits, and vergence) using 89 eye-tracking algorithms. A semi-supervised, self-training, machine learning classifier was used to group the data into age ranges. This classifier resulted in 12 age groups: 6-7, 8-11, 12-14, 15-25, 26-31, 32-38, 39-45, 46-53, 54-60, 61-68, 69-76, and 77-80 years. To provide a descriptive indication of the strength of the self-training classifier, a series of multiple analyses of variance (MANOVA) were conducted on the multivariate effect of the age groups by test set. Each MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate effect on age groups (p < 0.001). Developmental changes in eye movements across age categories were identified. Specifically, similarities were observed between very young and elderly individuals. Middle-aged individuals (30s) generally showed the best eye movement metrics. Clinicians and researchers may use the findings from this study to inform decision-making on patients' health and wellness and guide effective research methodologies.

Accelerated Theta Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Refractory Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PURPOSE: Major depressive disorder (MDD) disproportionately affects those living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with significant impairment and treatment recidivism. METHODS: We studied the use of accelerated theta burst stimulation (ATBS) for the treatment of refractory MDD in ASD (3 treatments daily x 10 days). This prospective open-label 12-week trial included 10 subjects with a mean age of 21.5 years, randomized to receive unilateral or bilateral stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. RESULTS: One participant dropped out of the study due to intolerability. In both treatment arms, depressive symptoms, scored on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, diminished substantially. At 12 weeks post-treatment, full remission was sustained in 5 subjects and partial remission in 3 subjects. Treatment with ATBS, regardless of the site of stimulation, was associated with a significant, substantial, and sustained improvement in depressive symptomatology via the primary outcome measure, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Additional secondary measures, including self-report depression scales, fluid cognition, and sleep quality, also showed significant improvement. No serious adverse events occurred during the study. Mild transient headaches were infrequently reported, which are expected side effects of ATBS. CONCLUSION: Overall, ATBS treatment was highly effective and well-tolerated in individuals with ASD and co-occurring MDD. The findings support the need for a larger, sham-controlled randomized controlled trial to further evaluate efficacy of ATBS in this population.