Pupil Dilation Reflecting the Characteristics of Attention Networks of Patients Using Image Processing

Attention is the basis of high-level cognitive functions of the human brain. The attention network consists of three networks: alerting, orienting, and executive network. Different type of epilepsy affects different brain regions, which could influence attention function differently. We created a computer-based automatic attention function evaluation platform with eye-tracking, which was adapted from the attention network test (ANT). Through this platform, we compared the pupil activation patterns of epilepsy patients (29 patients with frontal lobe epilepsy and 37 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy) and healthy controls (n = 29) in three networks. Participants had different patterns of pupil dilation under the three network conditions. Eye-tracking data showed that compared with the healthy control group, patients with frontal lobe epilepsy had a worse executive function, and temporal lobe epilepsy affected the patients' alerting and orienting network. Our study showed that the characteristic analysis of pupil activation curves of three networks could assist in the location of epileptogenic lesions in patients with epilepsy.