Skip Navigation


Brain Advance Access first published online on November 21, 2006
This version published online on December 4, 2006
Brain, doi:10.1093/brain/awl309
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
130/1/10    most recent
awl309v2
awl309v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ramat, S.
Right arrow Articles by Optican, L. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ramat, S.
Right arrow Articles by Optican, L. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain, 2006. The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.
Received July 17, 2006
Revised October 5, 2006
Accepted October 6, 2006

Review Article

What clinical disorders tell us about the neural control of saccadic eye movements

Stefano Ramat 1, R. John Leigh 2, David S. Zee 3, and Lance M. Optican 4 *

1 University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
2 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
3 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
4 National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Lance M. Optican, E-mail: LanceOptican{at}nih.gov


  Abstract

Saccades are rapid eye movements that redirect the fovea from one object to another. A great deal has been learned about the anatomy and physiology of saccades, making them an ideal system for studying the neural control of movement. Basic research on normal eye movements has greatly increased our understanding of saccadic performance, anatomy and physiology, and led to a large number of control system models. These models simulate normal saccades well, but are challenged by clinical disorders because they often do not incorporate the specific anatomical and physiological substrates needed to model clinically important abnormalities. Historically, studies of saccadic abnormalities in patients have played a critical role in understanding the neural control of saccades because they provide information that complements basic research and thus restricts hypotheses to those that are biologically plausible. This review presents four examples of clinical disorders (slow saccades, interrupted saccades, high-frequency saccadic oscillations and macrosaccadic oscillations) that have provided insights into the neurobiology of saccades, have driven the development of new models, and have suggested an explanation or treatment for these disorders. We raise general questions for both scientists and clinicians that will assist in their efforts to understand the neural control of movement, improve diagnostic criteria and develop new treatments.

Keywords: cerebellum; macrosaccadic oscillations; opsoclonus; saccadic palsy; superior colliculus.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 BrainHome page
M. C. Fahey, P. D. Cremer, S. T. Aw, L. Millist, M. J. Todd, O. B. White, M. Halmagyi, L. A. Corben, V. Collins, A. J. Churchyard, et al.
Vestibular, saccadic and fixation abnormalities in genetically confirmed Friedreich ataxia
Brain, April 1, 2008; 131(4): 1035 - 1045.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 IOVSHome page
T. Collins, A. Semroud, E. Orriols, and K. Dore-Mazars
Saccade Dynamics before, during, and after Saccadic Adaptation in Humans
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., February 1, 2008; 49(2): 604 - 612.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
S. D.Z. Eggers, M. L. Moster, and K. Cranmer
SELECTIVE SACCADIC PALSY AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY
Neurology, January 22, 2008; 70(4): 318 - 320.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BrainHome page
A. G. Shaikh, K. Miura, L. M. Optican, S. Ramat, R. J. Leigh, and D. S. Zee
A new familial disease of saccadic oscillations and limb tremor provides clues to mechanisms of common tremor disorders
Brain, November 1, 2007; 130(11): 3020 - 3031.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Physiol.Home page
J.-J. Orban de Xivry and P. Lefevre
Saccades and pursuit: two outcomes of a single sensorimotor process
J. Physiol., October 1, 2007; 584(1): 11 - 23.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
J. Hubner, A. Sprenger, C. Klein, J. Hagenah, H. Rambold, C. Zuhlke, D. Kompf, A. Rolfs, H. Kimmig, and C. Helmchen
Eye movement abnormalities in spinocerebellar ataxia type 17 (SCA17)
Neurology, September 11, 2007; 69(11): 1160 - 1168.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.