Medical Sciences, Vol. 14, Pages 28: The Diagnostic Potential of Eye Tracking to Detect Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review

Medical Sciences doi: 10.3390/medsci14010028

Authors:
Marcella Di Cara
Carmela De Domenico
Adriana Piccolo
Angelo Alito
Lara Costa
Angelo Quartarone
Francesca Cucinotta

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with distinct visual attention patterns that provide insight into underlying social-cognitive mechanisms. Methods: This systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42023429316), conducted per PRISMA guidelines, synthesizes evidence from 14 peer-reviewed studies using eye-tracking to compare oculomotor strategies in autistic children and typically developing (TD) controls. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct up to March 2025. Study inclusion criteria focused on ASD versus TD group comparisons in individuals under 18 years, with key metrics, fixation duration and count, spatial distribution, saccadic parameters systematically extracted. Risk of bias was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool, revealing high heterogeneity in both index tests and patient selection. Results: The results indicate that autistic children exhibit reduced fixation on socially salient stimuli, atypical saccadic behavior, and more variable spatial exploration compared to controls. Conclusions: These oculomotor differences suggest altered mechanisms of social attention and information processing in ASD. Findings suggest that eye-tracking can contribute valuable information about heterogeneous gaze profiles in ASD, providing preliminary insight that may inform future studies to develop more sensitive diagnostic tools. This review highlights visual attention patterns as promising indicators of neurocognitive functioning in ASD.

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Marcella Di Cara www.mdpi.com