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Smooth Pursuit in Patients with Downbeat Nystagmus
Author(s) -
GLASAUER STEFAN,
HOSHI MUNA,
BÜTTNER ULRICH
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1325.061
Subject(s) - smooth pursuit , gaze , darkness , nystagmus , audiology , psychology , medicine , ophthalmology , neuroscience , anatomy , eye movement , physics , optics , psychoanalysis
A bstract : Smooth pursuit and gaze holding in light and darkness was investigated in 19 patients with downbeat nystagmus (DBN) and 17 control subjects. Vertical downward smooth pursuit was selectively impaired in patients, and gaze holding with a visible target was only slightly better than in darkness. The selective impairment of downward pursuit and the poor visual suppression of ocular drift in DBN support the involvement of the floccular lobe, which participates in gaze holding and contains gaze‐velocity Purkinje cells with a downward on‐direction for smooth pursuit.