Abstract

PINZON-AMADO, Alexánder; LEON-MARTINEZ, Nelson Enrique  and  BLANCO-DIAZ, Mónica Janeth. Altered Saccadic Eye Movements in Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Study. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2007, vol.36, n.4, pp.628-642. ISSN 0034-7450.

Context: Altered saccadic eye movements are considered biological markers of schizophrenia. Objective: To evaluate alterations of saccadic eye movements as biological markers in subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methodology: Case-Control study in 50 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 48 healthy control subjects paired by age and gender. An electronic device and software were designed to perform the electro-oculographic test and to analyze the signals using computational algorithms. A structured psychiatric interview, an electro-oculogram and an optometric test were performed on all the participants. The electro-oculographic signal was then characterized, identifying the regions where the saccadic leaps occurred. Within these regions the parameters amplitude, duration, gain, latency and peak velocity were measured. A statistical analysis was performed using the one way ANOVA or the Kruskall-Wallis when the data did not have a normal distribution. Results: Statistically signifi cant differences were observed between both groups only for the “latency” in visual amplitudes larger than 45 degrees and in the anti-saccadic movement in visual amplitudes between 10 and 20 degrees, patterns that have been reported by other researchers.

Keywords : Saccadic eye movements; schizophrenia; electro-oculography.

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