Faculty Collaboration Database

Dysfunction of pontine omnipause neurons causes impaired fixation: macrosaccadic oscillations with a unilateral pontine lesion. Neuroophthalmology 1996 Apr;16(2):99-106

Date

04/01/1996

Pubmed ID

11539873

DOI

10.3109/01658109609009668

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0029965143 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   30 Citations

Abstract

Macrosaccadic oscillations of eyes (MSO) are regarded as a form of saccadic dysmetria secondary to cerebellar dysfunction. They are usually conjugate, horizontal, and symmetric in both directions of gaze. Using magnetic search coils, we studied a patient with MSO that developed five years following head injury and involved synchronously horizontal, vertical, and torsional planes. The MSO were characterized by directional pre-ponderance and were associated with ipsilateral pontine lesion. We propose a disturbance of fixation mechanisms due to unilateral disinhibition of saccadic burst neurons in three planes. This could arise from either primary or secondary dysfunction of omnipause neurons due to impaired input from the contralateral superior colliculus. The delayed onset is suggestive of denervation supersensitivity as the underlying pathophysiology.

Author List

Averbuch-Heller L, Kori AA, Rottach KG, Dell'Osso LF, Remler BF, Leigh RJ

Author

Bernd F. Remler MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Eye Movements
Fixation, Ocular
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurons
Pons
Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular
Saccades
Superior Colliculi
Vision Disorders