2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (35): 5724-5732

Visualization analysis of literature on eye tracking in cognitive behaviors of autistic patients

She Jian1, Zhao Jing1, Zhang Jiaming1, Xia Haisha1, Zhong Dongling1, Li Yuxi1, Zheng Zhong2, Li Juan1, Jin Rongjiang1   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Eye tracking has attracted the attention of Chinese scholars because it can objectively, timely and non-invasively reflect the eye movement and attention characteristics of autistic patients, which makes up for the lack of objectivity of traditional measurement methods. However, there is yet no visualization analysis of literature on eye tracking in autistic patients.
OBJECTIVE: To perform the visualization analysis of relevant Chinese and English literature on eye tracking in autism and to understand the research overview, hot spots and trends in this field.
METHODS: Literature related to eye tracking in autistic patients were searched in Web of Science Core Collection database and CNKI database from their inception to November 5, 2021. Bibliometrics and visualization analysis of key node information in the literature was conducted using CiteSpace software (R5.8.R1). The main observation indexes were node centrality, co-occurrence frequency or co-citation frequency, and burst time.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A total of 1 458 papers were included in the Web of Science core Collection database, the first of which was published in 1994, and 210 papers were included in the CNKI database, the first of which was published in 2007. The international author with the most publications is JOHNSON MH who is from the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, and the institution with the most publications is University College London. In China, Chen Shunsen who is from the Institute of Applied Psychology of Minnan Normal University has published the most papers, and the institution with the most publications is the Institute of Applied Psychology of Minnan Normal University. There are some differences between domestic and international research hotspots. Domestic researchers mostly focus on the attentional bias behavior pattern of children with autism towards external social cues, and their results mainly show that children with autism have attentional bias of negative emotional cues and eye attention bias. International researchers not only focus on the visual patterns of processing social cues in children and infants with autism, but also use brain imaging technology to study the underlying neural mechanisms of abnormal visual behavior patterns. The main research results are that the abnormal attention pattern of autism patients is mainly related to the activation of amygdala, occipito-temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus. Further research on biomarkers related to autism is required to provide objective indicators for early diagnosis and intervention of autistic patients.
Key words: autism spectrum disorder, CiteSpace, eye tracking, visualization analysis, cognitive behavior pattern, neuromechanism, infant, children