Smooth pursuit eye movements of patients with schizophrenia and affective disorder during clinical treatment.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Smooth pursuit eye movement dysfunctions are considered a biological indicator for vulnerability to schizophrenia. This study examines test-retest stability of specific eye movement variables such as velocity gain and different saccadic categories.

METHODS:

Smooth pursuit eye movements of 27 schizophrenic patients and 30 patients with major depression were examined three times during clinical treatment using high-resolution infrared oculography. Forty-one normal controls were retested after four weeks.

RESULTS:

Intraclass correlation coefficients as a measure for retest-stability were highly significant in each group for all time-points, except for anticipatory saccades in schizophrenics. No significant correlations were found between psychopathological status, neuroleptic medication and eye movement variables.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results indicate that the most important measures of eye tracking performance in psychiatric patients are not significantly influenced by neuroleptic medication or clinical state and are stable across time.

• Authors: Klaus-Malte Flechtner, Bruno Steinacher, Robert Sauer, Arthur Mackert
• Journal: European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience (Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci) Vol. 252 Issue 2 Pg. 49-53 (Apr 2002) ISSN: 0940-1334 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 12111336 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents

Topics

• Adult
• Antipsychotic Agents (administration & dosage, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
• Depressive Disorder, Major (diagnosis, drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Electrooculography
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Saccades (drug effects, physiology)
• Schizophrenia (diagnosis, drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Time Factors