Oculomotor performance in children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

• We assessed oculomotor performance in children with high-functioning ASD.
• Children with ASD exhibited greater horizontal saccade latency.
• Children with ASD exhibited greater phase lag during vertical smooth pursuit.
• These deficits are in accordance with neurobiological abnormalities in ASD.
• Oculomotor training is effective in other populations, and may be useful in ASD.

Sensorimotor issues are of increasing focus in the assessment and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The oculomotor system is a sensorimotor network that can provide insights into functional neurobiology and has well-established methodologies for investigation. In this study, we assessed oculomotor performance among children with high functioning ASD and typically developing children, ages 6–12 years. Children with ASD exhibited greater horizontal saccade latency and greater phase lag during vertical smooth pursuit. Saccades and smooth pursuit are mediated by spatially distant brain regions and the long-fiber tracts connecting them, many of which are implicated in ASD. Training paradigms for oculomotor deficits have shown positive outcomes in other clinical populations, and deficits described here may provide useful targets for interventions.