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Variable waveforms in downbeat nystagmus imply short‐term gain changes
Author(s) -
Abel L. A.,
Traccis S.,
Dell'Osso L. F.,
Ansevin C. F.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410130606
Subject(s) - nystagmus , audiology , waveform , brainstem , beat (acoustics) , term (time) , medicine , psychology , physics , acoustics , neuroscience , voltage , quantum mechanics
A patient with downbeat nystagmus subsequent to ankylosing spondylitis was studied. His nystagmus was found to exhibit both increasing‐ and decreasing‐velocity exponential slow phases as well as the linear form more often reported. Alternation between waveforms sometimes occurred on a beat‐to‐beat or even intrabeat basis. Possible expalnations for all three waveforms are presented in terms of short‐term gain changes in cerebellar compensation for leaky brainstem neural integrators. A computer model was developed and its results are discussed.