Oculomotor response strategies in recognizing realistic and schematic images of human faces in a patient with Alzheimer's disease: a clinical case

Relevance. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of neurodegenerative disease, leading to progressive cognitive deficits. One promising noninvasive method for diagnosing cognitive impairment is oculomotor response analysis. Of particular interest is the study of social cognition processes, particularly face recognition, which is impaired in Alzheimer's disease. However, the parameters of oculomotor responses in this disease remain poorly understood.

Purpose: To study the characteristics of oculomotor response strategies in patients with Alzheimer's disease when recognizing realistic and schematic images of human faces.

Materials and Methods: A clinical case study assessment of the oculomotor response strategy for recognizing realistic and schematic images of human faces in a patient with late-onset Alzheimer's disease is presented.

Results: Facial image processing strategies qualitatively differ depending on the stimulus type. Relative preservation of the performance on schematic stimuli is achieved through a compensatory transition to a successive strategy and a reduction in cognitive load (shortened saccades).

Conclusions: qualitatively different strategies of oculomotor reactions were identified when recogniz ing realistic and schematic images of human faces.

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