Investigating inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: an eye-tracking study.

Objectives: This study employed high-precision infrared eye-tracking technology to systematically investigate domain-specific impairments in executive function components-specifically inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility-among children with Self-Limited Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (SeLECTS).

Methods: Thirty-six children diagnosed with SeLECTS (age 11.6 ± 2.8 years) and thirty-two healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. All the participants completed the Wechsler memory assessment (WISC-V) and a series of saccade tasks with an eye tracker, including baseline prosaccade, antisaccade inhibition, and switch-task flexibility.

Results: Compared with healthy controls, the SeLECTS group spent significantly longer amounts of time on the antisaccade task (F(1,68) = 290.8, P < 0.001,ηp2 = 0.82). SeLECTS patients with a younger age of onset were more likely to have longer reaction time on the antisaccade task (r = -0.613, 95 %CI [-35.51, -13.50], P < 0.0001). In the switching task, the repeated-measure ANOVA of two switching patterns (repeat and switch) in the SeLECTS group and HCs showed a significant main effect (F(1,68) = 12.6, P < 0.001,ηp2 = 0.16).

Conclusion: Eye tracking technology provides the possibility of helping separate and quantify executive function's subcomponent processes, contributing to exploration of the underlying mechanisms of executive dysfunction in SeLECTS. This finding underscores the critical importance of early rehabilitation training targeting inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility for improving the quality of life in pediatric patients.