Behavioral Dynamics Between Infants With Visual Loss and Healthy Controls

An individual senses the world and reflects feedbacks via independent behaviors. Such precise collaboration of the sensory and behavioral systems is fundamental to survival and evolution. When a sensory modality is altered, the behavioral system has the potential to fit in a substitute modality. However, the specific dynamics of human behaviors in response to sensory loss remain largely unknown due to the paucities of representative situations and large-scale samples.

Here, the investigators focused on thousands of human infants who suffered varying degrees of visual stimuli deficiency in early stages, while their behavioral systems remained sensitive and thus retained high behavioral plasticity. Having access to this unique population provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the effect of diverse visual conditions on the behavioral system.

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Key information

Conditions

Behavioral Dynamics Eye Diseases Nervous System Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Sensation Disorders Signs and Symptoms Vision Disorders Visual Impairment

Age range

Up to 3 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Zhognshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University

Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, China

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Younger than 3 years of age

Exclusion criteria

Any brain and mental illnesses, or other known illnesses that may affect the behavioral patterns

Treatment and study plan

Standardized video recording for behaviors

Other

A standardized apparatus, scenario, and procedure was applied to record all the behavioral phenotypes with minimized background interference and stimulation.

For each standardized procedure, the guardian sits in the chair, holding the infant facing the stage. Each infant is given a few minutes to adapt to the surroundings and to be calm before recording. No hints or simulations are permitted during the entire process. The recording process lasted for over 5 minutes to ensure that behavioral phenotypes could be completely recorded.

Primary outcomes

Behavioral dynamics

Time frame: baseline

Eyeball movement (strabismus, nystagmus, and incongruous binocular movement); hand-related behaviors (eye rubbing, pressing, and poking); fixation-related behaviors (compulsive light gazing, compensatory head position, motionless fixation, and poor fixation); and eyelid reaction (frequent blinking, squint, and frown). Five experienced ophthalmologists identified the behaviors independently, and 2 professors with over 10 years of experience in pediatric ophthalmology department were consulted in cases of disagreement.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Sun Yat-sen University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Comparison of the Behavioral Dynamics Between Visually Impaired Infants and Healthy Controls

Important dates

Study start: 2014
Primary completion: 2017
Study completion: 2017
First posted: Feb 13, 2018
Registry last updated: Feb 13, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

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