Systems and methods for detecting blink inhibition as a marker of engagement and perceived stimulus salience

A system for assessing a risk of a mental condition in an individual using eye monitoring, comprising:

• a processor in communication with an eye tracker device, wherein the processor receives from the eye tracker device both (i) eye-movement data indicative of eye movements of the individual corresponding to fixation of the individual's eyes with respect to a dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual and (ii) blink data indicative of blink responses of the individual to the dynamic visual stimulus displayed to the individual, and wherein the processor synchronizes the received blink data and the received eye-movement data with the dynamic visual stimulus;
• and
• a local display in communication with the processor that, in response to the processor identifying a period of blink inhibition in the synchronized blink data and determining for the identified period of blink inhibition at least one spatial fixation location from the synchronized eye-movement data for the individual, presents a mapping of perceived temporal and spatial salience with respect to the dynamic visual stimulus in an assessment interface indicative of a presence or absence of an autism spectrum disorder for the individual.