Developing a Novel Eye Tracking Paradigm to Assess Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Feasibility Study of the Bethesda Eye and Attention Measure (BEAM)

Abstract

The Bethesda Eye and Attention Measure (BEAM), a computer-based eye tracking paradigm, was designed to assess visual (i.e., saccadic) and manual (i.e., button press) reaction times to stimuli that appear on a screen. A developmental phase and two studies were conducted to assess the feasibility of the BEAM for the assessment of cognitive performance in humans with a history of mild TBI. It was determined that the BEAM could elicit multiple cognitive processes in a small sample (N = 11) of adult men and women without a history of brain injury. Orienting, alerting, executive, and gap effects were found in both visual and manual reaction times. The results suggest the BEAM is capable of assessing cognitive performance. Future studies comparing visual and manual reaction times between individuals and groups with and without a history of TBI are needed to evaluate the BEAMs viability as a clinical measure of cognitive impairment.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2012
Accession Number
AD1013072

Entities

People

  • David M. Barry

Organizations

  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Brain
  • Brain Injuries
  • Cognition
  • Craniocerebral Trauma
  • Health Services
  • Injury Prevention
  • Medical Personnel
  • Neurosciences
  • Psychology

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
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  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics