Gaze Patterns in Visual Search: Tracking Eye Movements in the Trail Making Test

Background and Aims: We tested a new digital adaptation of the TrailMaking Test (TMT) integrated with eye tracking. TMT involvesparticipants connecting circles labeled with letters or numbers inascending order, serving as a visual search task. Methods: Participantscompleted three TMT versions: 1. Control condition: lines connectingcircles remain visible. 2. Trace-the-path condition: circles turn blackupon connection, reducing interference of already explored items. 3.No-memory condition: all items change their position each time theparticipant reaches a target, making impossible for participants tomemorize the positions of future targets. We systematically manip-ulated the spatial arrangement of subsequent targets according tocriteria of Distance (new target can be near or far) and Continuity(participants need to follow either a continuous or a discontinuouspath to reach the new target). All conditions were run with onlynumbers (1,2,3,4…) or alternating numbers and letters (1,A,2,B…)asvisual search targets. Eye movements were monitored throughout thetasks. Results: Preliminary resulting (N = 12) indicate that: •Switching between letters and numbers increase processing time,saccades, and fixations. • The trace-the-path condition show noadvantage over the control condition. Specific findings in the no-memory condition include: 1. Fewer saccades and fixations wereneeded for nearby targets compared to distant ones; 2. Continuity inthe path between targets had no impact on saccades and fixations. 3. Alimited influence of the number-letter switch; Conclusion: Our com-puter-based TMT coupled with eye tracking allows for in-depthexplorations of visual search, uncovering distinct eye movement patterns across conditions.