Oculomotor atypicalities in Developmental Coordination Disorder

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content>) fail to acquire adequate motor skill, yet surprisingly little is known about the oculomotor system in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content>. Successful completion of motor tasks is supported by accurate visual feedback. The purpose of this study was to determine whether any oculomotor differences can distinguish between children with and without a motor impairment. Using eye tracking technology, visual fixation, smooth pursuit, and pro‐ and anti‐saccade performance were assessed in 77 children that formed three groups: children with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content> (aged 7–10), chronologically age (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CA</jats:styled-content>) matched peers, and a motor‐match (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MM</jats:styled-content>) group (aged 4–7). Pursuit gain and response preparation in the pro‐ and anti‐saccade tasks were comparable across groups. Compared to age controls, children with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content> had deficits in maintaining engagement in the fixation and pursuit tasks, and made more anti‐saccade errors. The two typically developing groups performed similarly, except on the fast speed smooth pursuit and antisaccade tasks, where the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CA</jats:styled-content> group outperformed the younger <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MM</jats:styled-content> group. The findings suggest that children with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content> have problems with saccadic inhibition and maintaining attention on a visual target. Developmental patterns were evident in the typically developing groups, suggesting that the pursuit system and cognitive control develop with age. This study adds to the literature by being the first to systematically identify specific oculomotor differences between children with and without a motor impairment. Further examination of oculomotor control may help to identify underlying processes contributing to <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DCD</jats:styled-content>. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://youtu.be/NinXa2KlB4M">https://youtu.be/NinXa2KlB4M</jats:ext-link>. [Correction added on 27 January 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]</jats:p>