The eye reveals a lot about the body's condition, and the pupil may also provide an indication of what is happening inside the brain.
Scientists are currently investigating the possibility of using subtle changes in pupil size to detect momentary fluctuations in attention in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
A recent study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, investigated whether changes in pupil size during memory-based tasks could reveal differences in the performance of children with the disorder, and whether medications influence these changes.
The pupil of the eye changes automatically with changes in the level of alertness, arousal, and attention, which has led scientists to study these changes as a possible indicator of the fluctuations that occur in attention from moment to moment.
Scientists analyzed eye-tracking data from 50 Chilean children aged 10 to 12, including 28 children with ADHD and 22 children without.
The children performed a 30-minute visual memory task, while scientists used the EyeLink 1000 device to track eye movement and measure changes in pupil size 1000 times per second.
The results showed that children with the disorder who did not take the medication experienced a greater change in pupil size from question to question compared to children without the disorder, with a difference of about 23%. However, this difference did not reach the level of statistical significance after making the necessary corrections.
The results also showed that children with the disorder, in the absence of medication, were faster at responding to memory tasks, but this speed came at the expense of accuracy.
The researchers focused specifically on 17 children who were tested under both medication and non-medication conditions. The results showed that taking methylphenidate was associated with reduced pupil size variability from question to question, along with greater pupil dilation during decision-making moments.
After taking the medication, the pupillary response pattern in these children became more similar to the pattern seen in children without the disorder.
Despite the significance of these findings, scientists emphasize that pupil size changes do not solely reflect attention but are also influenced by other brain processes. Therefore, pupil size measurement cannot currently be used as a standalone test for diagnosing ADHD, but it may serve as a complementary tool to the cognitive and physiological tests used in assessing the disorder.
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