An Experimental Investigation of the Visual Behavior of Young Heroin Addicts and Matched Controls

Abstract

in addicts differed from non-addicted controls. The study employed an oculometer, which tracked and recorded eye movements without the subject's knowledge or any interference with his visual behavior, and a data processing system, which handled the large volume of data produced by tracking the eye at 60 frames a second. Analysis of the eye movement data revealed major differences between the rapid eye movements, fixation sequences and scan pattern of addicts and non-addicted control subjects. It appears that the significant differences between the eye movements of the addicts and the control subjects are due to motivational factors associated with the importance of the stimulus material; e.g., drug versus neutral items, basic differences in the physiological and central nervous system processes that regulate eye movements, and possible difference in reading skills and the ability to manipulate printed material. Extensions and application of the eye movement studies are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1973
Accession Number
AD0771058

Entities

People

  • Marjorie A. Rosenberger
  • Richard A. Monty
  • Robert J. Hall

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Boundaries
  • Central Nervous System
  • Data Processing
  • Data Reduction
  • Drug Abuse
  • Engineering
  • Eye Movements
  • Health Services
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Instrumentation
  • Materials
  • Nervous System
  • Observation
  • Oculometers
  • Sequences
  • Word Recognition

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Theoretical Analysis.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.