“VOR is a reflex where head movements (even in the dark) drive compensatory eye movements in the opposite direction to the head,” said Bender. “This is done solely with the sensory input provided from the semicircular canals that make up your vestibular sensory apparatus.

The researchers found that children with these variants have an unusual form of the reflex that stabilizes the gaze while the head is moving, called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). In children with autism, it seems to go overboard, and this can be measured with a simple eye-tracking device.