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Smooth pursuit and saccadic abnormalities in first-episode schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 1998

S. B. HUTTON ,
T. J. CRAWFORD ,
B. K. PURI ,
L.-J. DUNCAN ,
M. CHAPMAN ,
C. KENNARD ,
T. R. E. BARNES  and
E. M. JOYCE
S. B. HUTTON
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
T. J. CRAWFORD
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
B. K. PURI
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
L.-J. DUNCAN
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
M. CHAPMAN
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
C. KENNARD
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
T. R. E. BARNES
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
E. M. JOYCE
Affiliation:
From the Department of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Postgraduate Medical School and The Rookery, Queen Mary's University Hospital, London; and Mental Health and Neural Systems Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster
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Abstract

Background. Previous studies of oculomotor dysfunction in schizophrenia have tended to concentrate on abnormalities of smooth pursuit eye tracking in chronic medicated patients. We report the results of a study of smooth pursuit, reflexive and antisaccade performance in drug naive and antipsychotic treated first-episode schizophrenic patients.

Methods. Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements were recorded in 36 first-episode schizophrenic patients and 36 controls matched for age and estimated IQ. The schizophrenic patients were divided into drug-naive (N=17) and antipsychotic treated groups (N=19).

Results. Smooth pursuit velocity gain was significantly lower than controls only in the drug-naive patients. The treated patients did not differ significantly from either the controls or the untreated group. In an antisaccade paradigm both treated and drug-naive schizophrenic patients demonstrated an increased number of errors, but only drug-naive patients also demonstrated an increased latency in initiating correct antisaccades.

Conclusions. These impairments are unlikely to be due to a generalized deficit in oculomotor function in the schizophrenic groups, as there were no differences between the groups in saccadic metrics on a reflexive saccade task. The results show that both smooth pursuit and saccadic abnormalities are present at the onset of schizophrenia and are integral to the disorder.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , May 1998 , pp. 685 - 692
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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