Eye Tracking for Neuroscience Research

Eye-Tracking Solutions for Neuroscience Research

EyeLink eye trackers have become an indispensable tool in neuroscience research, offering unparalleled insights into the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes, visual attention, and neurological conditions. Our eye trackers are designed to be integrated and synchronized with other biometric recording devices, including fMRI, MEG, EEG, fNIRS, and more.

The Importance of Eye Tracking in Neuroscience

Eye tracking provides a non-invasive and high-resolution method for capturing dynamic attentional shifts and visual search patterns. This data is crucial for:

• Understanding Cognitive Processes: Studying how individuals process information, make decisions, and engage with their environment.
• Investigating Neurological Disorders: Identifying early markers and progression of conditions like ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.
• Assessing Treatment Efficacy: Monitoring changes in visual attention and cognitive performance in response to therapeutic interventions.

Eye Tracking Hardware for Neuroscience Research

EyeLink eye trackers are renowned for their exceptional accuracy, high sampling rates, and low noise levels, making them the perfect choice for demanding neuroscience research. 

The EyeLink 1000 Plus is a highly flexible eye-tracking solution with a range of mounting options, including long range solutions specifically designed for combined eye tracking with MRI / MEG. The EyeLink Portable Duo is ideal for taking neuroscience research out of the lab and into settings such as clinics and hospitals. The head mounted EyeLink 3 is perfect for researchers looking into topics such as the vestibular ocular reflex, and how head and eye movement integration is impacted by neurological dysfunction.

All EyeLink systems have the following features::

• Outstanding Spatial Accuracy: Average accuracy across the calibrated area of the screen is between 0.25-0.5 degrees.
• High Sampling Rates: High sampling rates allow very precise fixation durations to be determined, and small intrafixational eye movements such as microsaccades to be measured.
• Exceptionally Low Noise Levels: Critical for microsaccade detection and precise measurement of saccade onsets and velocity profiles.
• Fast Real-Time Access to Eye Position: The combination of very rapid access to eye position (< 2ms at 1000 Hz) and a fast monitor ensures that display changes occur quickly in gaze-contingent boundary-crossing / moving window tasks.
• Perfect for Pupillometry: EyeLink eye trackers measure pupil size every sample and can reliably detect changes of less than 1%, making them perfect for pupillometry research.

The EyeLink 3 has the following additional features:

• 6-DOF Head Tracking Data: Perfectly synchronized with gaze and eye-in-head data at up to 1000 Hz – ideal for research into head-eye coordination, the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) and much more.
• High Speed Eye Video: Up to 500 frames per second video of the eyes – ideal for research into torsional eye movements, blinks, microsaccades and ocular drift.

Eye Tracking Software for Neuroscience Research

Complementing our gold-standard eye tracking hardware, our comprehensive software suite provides researchers with powerful tools for experiment design, stimulus presentation, and data analysis.

Experiment Builder

SR Research Experiment Builder is a sophisticated and intuitive drag-and-drop graphical programming environment for creating computer-based psychology and neuroscience experiments. With precise stimulus timing and powerful gaze-contingent features, it is the perfect tool for creating a wide range of clinical tasks.

• Intuitive Interface: A graphical programming environment for creating complex eye tracking experiments without extensive coding.
• Stimulus Presentation: Supports a wide range of visual and auditory stimuli, including text, images and videos.
• Conditional Logic: Allows for dynamic experiment flows based on participant responses or gaze behavior.
• Synchronization: Ensures precise timing and synchronization with external devices.

Data Viewer

SR Research Data Viewer has an intuitive interface and is packed with powerful features that allow users to visualize their data and quickly output key gaze metrics.

• Advanced Data Analysis: Tools for visualizing, filtering, and segmenting eye movement data.
• Saccade and Fixation Detection: Automated algorithms for identifying and quantifying key eye movement events.
• Heat Maps and Gaze Paths: Graphical representations of attention distribution and scan patterns.
• Customizable Metrics: Calculation of various eye movement metrics relevant to neuroscience research.

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