Eye movements in face recognition in elderly

Abstract

Previous research suggested that eye movement patterns were closely linked with face recognition performance and cognitive decline related to aging and Alzheimer‟s disease. The primary objective of this study was to further investigate the relationships between eye movement patterns, face recognition performance and cognitive status in the elderly population. The first hypothesis was a positive correlation between analytic (holistic) eye movement pattern and better (poorer) face recognition performance. The second hypothesis was a positive correlation between analytic (holistic) eye movement pattern and higher (lower) general cognitive status. A total of 26 elderly participants with different cognitive status were recruited to perform a face recognition memory task and different cognitive functioning tasks. Eye movement analysis was applied to reflect the underlying cognitive processes during face recognition, and the Hidden Markov Model framework was utilized to uncover individual differences in these cognitive processes. Results were consistent with our hypotheses and indicated a significant moderate positive correlation between the „spread‟ (less holistic) eye movement pattern and better face recognition performance, and a marginally significant moderate positive correlation between the „spread‟ eye movement pattern and higher general cognitive status. The findings suggested the possibility that a link existed between holistic eye movement pattern and cognitive decline related to Alzheimer‟s disease. Probable implications and limitations of the current study were discussed.