Saccadic dysfunction in patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Abstract

Electrophysiological monitoring of saccadic eye movements in patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy was carried out. Externally guided saccades (prosaccades) were recorded using a patented hardware-software complex for studying a subject's physical activity. Recordings were performed in two independent experimental procedures -for saccades separately and when they were coordinated with movement of the head and hand. In both cases statistically significant differences of latent period and duration of saccadic eye movement were detected for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy subjects in comparison with healthy controls of the same age (p < 0.05). Jerking and deviation of eyes after gaze fixation on a target were often present in hypoxicischemic encephalopathy subjects. In some cases saccades of these subjects were asymmetrical among themselves. Hypoxicischemic encephalopathy induced changes in the parameters of autosaccades were also found They were expressed through instability of gaze fixation periods, sometimes asymmetric eye movements, slow gaze shift from one target to another, and disturbance of gaze stabilization (jerking of eyeballs during the saccadic period).