Webcam-based eye-tracking of attentional biases in Alzheimer’s disease: a proof-of-concept study

Greenaway, A.-M., Hwang, F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3243-3869, Nasuto, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9414-9049 and Ho, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2581-126X (2024) Webcam-based eye-tracking of attentional biases in Alzheimer’s disease: a proof-of-concept study. Clinical Gerontologist, 47 (1). pp. 98-109. ISSN 1545-2301 doi: 10.1080/07317115.2023.2240783

Abstract/Summary

Objectives To measure home-based older adults’ attentional biases (AB) using webcam-based eye-tracking (WBET) and examine internal consistency. Methods Twelve participants with and without cognitive impairment completed online self-report anxiety and depression screens, and a 96-trial dot-probe task with eye-gaze tracking. For each trial, participants fixated on a cross, free-viewed sad-neutral, sad-angry, sad-happy, angry-neutral, angry-happy, and happy-neutral facial expression pairings, and then fixated on a dot. In emotional-neutral pairings, the time spent looking (dwell-time) at neutral was averaged and subtracted from the emotional average to indicate biases “away from” (negative score) and “toward” (positive score) each emotional face. Internal consistency was estimated for dwell-times and bias scores using Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman – Brown corrected split-half coefficients. Results The full-cohort and a comorbid anxious and depressed sub-group (n = 6) displayed AB away from sad faces, and toward angry and happy faces, with happy-face AB being more pronounced. AB indices demonstrated low reliability except sub-group happy-face indices. Happy-face AB demonstrated the highest reliability. Conclusions AB measures were in-line with lab-based eye-tracking literature, providing some support for WBET-based measurement. Clinical Implications Establishing the feasibility of WBET-based measures is a step toward an objective home-based clinical tool. Literature-based suggestions are provided to improve reliability.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/112772
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/07317115.2023.2240783
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Ageing Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Department of Bio-Engineering Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Language and Cognition Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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