Genetics affects mental development

Researchers compared the eye movements of 466 children -233 pairs of twins (119 identical and 114 fraternal)-between ages 9 and 14 as each child looked at 80 snapshots of scenes people might encounter in daily life, half of which included people. Using an eye tracker, the researchers then measured the sequence of eye movements in both space and time as each child looked at the scene. They also examined general "tendencies of exploration"; for example, if a child looked at only one or two features of a scene or at many different ones.

The study found a strong similarity in gaze patterns within sets of identical twins, who tended to look at the same features of a scene in the same order. It found a weaker but still pronounced similarity between fraternal twins.This suggests a strong genetic component to the way individuals visually explore their environments: Insofar as both identical and fraternal twins each share a common environment with their twin, the researchers can infer that the more robust similarity in the eye movements of identical twins is likely due to their shared genetic makeup.

The researchers also found that they could reliably identify a twin with their sibling from among a pool of unrelated individuals based on their shared gaze patterns- a novel method they termed "gaze fingerprinting." Human eyes are moving constantly, roughly three times per second. We are always seeking out information and actively engaged with our environment, and ultimately where you look affects development.

After early childhood, the study suggests that genes influence at the micro-level- through the immediate, moment-to-moment selection of visual information the environments individuals create for themselves. Eye movements allow individuals to obtain specific information from a space that is vast and largely unconstrained. Human biology affects how we seek out visual information from complex scenes. It gives us a new instance of how biology and environment are integrated in our development.

This study offers a new angle on the emergence of differences between individuals and the integration of genetic and environmental factors in social, emotional and cognitive development. This is significant because visual exploration is also one of the first ways infants interact with the environment.
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