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The ability to produce express saccades as a function of gap interval among schizophrenia patients

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Abstract

The ability to produce “express sacccades” is associated with adequate functioning of saccadic burst cells in the superior colliculus. Saccadic burst cells appear to be under the inhibitory control of both the collicular and the dorsolateral frontal fixation systems. Twenty schizophrenia patients and 20 nonpsychiatric subjects were presented a saccade task that included five different gap intervals (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 ms) between fixation point offset and peripheral target onset (at ±4°). All subjects generated the highest frequency of express saccades in trials with a gap interval of 200 ms. Schizophrenia patients had an increased frequency of express saccades across gap intervals, especially for targets presented in the right visual field. The groups did not differ in the percentages of anticipatory saccades or saccadic amplitudes. These results suggest that schizophrenia patients' saccadic burst cells in the superior colliculus are functioning adequately, but may be consistent with dys-function of dorsolateral frontal cortex and/or its interconnecting subcortical circuitry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, Calif., USA

    Brett A. Clementz

  2. Department of Psychology, 9500 Gilman Drive, 92093-0109, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Brett A. Clementz

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  1. Brett A. Clementz
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Clementz, B.A. The ability to produce express saccades as a function of gap interval among schizophrenia patients. Exp Brain Res 111, 121–130 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229561

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