Abnormal smooth pursuit eye movements in schizophrenic patients are associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in oculomotor regions.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that abnormal smooth pursuit eye movements in schizophrenic patients would be related to cerebral glucose utilization in specific oculomotor regions. Eye movements were assessed with infrared oculography in 11 unmedicated schizophrenic patients and 13 normal comparison subjects. For the patients only, regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose utilization was measured with positron emission tomography. Abnormal pursuit tracking in the patients was associated with relatively decreased metabolism in the frontal eye fields and increased metabolism in the caudate nuclei. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that these cerebral regions are involved in the pathophysiology of abnormal pursuit as related parts of a cortical-subcortical oculomotor circuit.