Behavioral Dynamics Between Infants With Visual Loss and Healthy Controls

Comparison of the Behavioral Dynamics Between Visually Impaired Infants 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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Visual Impairment; Behavioral Dynamics
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Standardized video recording for behaviors

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 4196

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510060
      • Zhognshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 3 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

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.

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
healthy group; For the "healthy" group, the visual acuity of both eyes was in the 95% referenced range with no structural abnormalities. The referenced range could be found in the following publication: Mayer, DL., et al. Monocular acuity norms for the Teller Acuity Cards between ages one month and four years. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 36(3):671 (1995)	Other: Standardized video recording for behaviors; 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.
mildly impaired group; The "mildly impaired" group was defined as a VA out of the 95% reference range in at least 1 eye, but the VA of both eyes was in the 99% referenced range with structural abnormalities.	Other: Standardized video recording for behaviors; 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.
severely impaired group; For the "severely impaired" group, the VA of both eyes was out of the 99% referenced range or worse than light perception with structural abnormalities.	Other: Standardized video recording for behaviors; 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behavioral dynamics	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.	baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sun Yat-sen University
• Investigators: Study Chair: Yizhi Liu, Ph.D, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen Univerisity

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Long E, Lin Z, Chen J, Liu Z, Cao Q, Lin H, Chen W, Liu Y. Monitoring and Morphologic Classification of Pediatric Cataract Using Slit-Lamp-Adapted Photography. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2017 Nov 2;6(6):2. doi: 10.1167/tvst.6.6.2. eCollection 2017 Nov.
• Japyassu HF, Malange J. Plasticity, stereotypy, intra-individual variability and personality: handle with care. Behav Processes. 2014 Nov;109 Pt A:40-7. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.016. Epub 2014 Sep 18.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 31, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): October 31, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 30, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): February 13, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 13, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2018
• Last Verified: February 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Eye Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Sensation Disorders; Vision, Low; Vision Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: CCPMOH2018-China-1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No