Bilateral Eye Movements Research Articles

A case of neuropsychiatric lupus Erythematosus characterized by the Owl\u2019s eye sign: a case report

BackgroundSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder characterized by multiple affected systems. More than half of SLE patients will suffer from neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) during the course of their disease. Although nearly half of the NPSLE patients have normal MRI manifestations, the abnormalities found in the remainder can be located anywhere in the brain, and especially in the subcortical white matter of the frontal and temporal lobe. However, NPSLE involving the medulla oblongata and spinal cord which presents as the “owl’s eye” sign has to our best knowledge not been reported to date.Case presentationA 19-year-old girl presented at our hospital with a 7-day history of fever and headache since a one day’s exertion, accompanied by 2 days of weakness. The patient had slurred speech. Neurological examination revealed the presence of horizontal nystagmus and a limitation of bilateral eye movement when looking up and down. At the same time, she showed difficulty in raising the jaw, accompanied by a weak pharyngeal reflex. Muscle strength was remarkably decreased in all four extremities: the MRCS grade of the upper limbs was 4/5, while in the lower limbs it was 0/5. Hypotonia was apparent in the lower extremities. Regarding subjective sensation, the patient appeared to be experiencing an increased sense of pain in the whole body, and especially in the cervical region, abdomen, and feet. An examination of shallow reflex documented the reinforcement of the abdominal reflex. Deep tendon reflexes were symmetric: absent in lower, normal in upper extremities. The patient also had a stiff neck with a positive Kernig’s sign. The laboratory examination showed elevated C - reactive protein and rheumatoid factor, as well as complement components 3 and 4. Symptomatic treatments were applied, but she did not respond well, after which we did immunological laboratory examinations. The results showed the presence of anti-nRNP/Sm, anti-dsDNA and anti-AMA M2 antibodies. An MRI scan and enhancement of the cervical and thoracic regions displayed abnormal signs in the medulla and bilateral anterior horn of the lower thoracic spine. Following the exclusion of other possible diseases, neuropsychiatric lupus was diagnosed. High-dose intravenous gamma-globulin combined with methylprednisolone gradually improved her condition.ConclusionWe report the first case of NPSLE presenting with medulla oblongata and spinal cord involvement, manifesting as the “owl’s eye” sign in MRI.

PM535. The effect of bilateral saccadic eye movements on the performance of recognition memory task in patients with schizophrenia

PM535. The effect of bilateral saccadic eye movements on the performance of recognition memory task in patients with schizophrenia

The impact of eye movements on a verbal creativity task

Bilateral eye movements (EMs) have been shown to induce cognitive enhancements for episodic memory, attention, and divergent thinking. Increased interhemispheric interaction has been suggested as a possible mechanism behind the EM effect, but other theories, including an increase in attentional control following EMs have also been proposed. The present research explored whether the bilateral EM effect could be extended to a creativity task that draws heavily on convergent thinking. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four EM conditions (bilateral, centre control, right-centre, or left-centre) and were presented with compound remote associate problems. After 7 s, participants were asked to make a solution/non-solution judgement to a target word presented in the left or right visual field. Bilateral and right-centre EM conditions exhibited enhanced performance on the task, with the bilateral condition demonstrating the best performance for solution targets and the right-centre condition presenting the best performance for non-solution targets. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the neural components of creativity and theories surrounding the effects of EMs on cognition.

Electroencephalography Coherence, Memory Vividness, and Emotional Valence Effects of Bilateral Eye Movements During Unpleasant Memory Recall and Subsequent Free Association: Implications for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

This study examined the effects of bilateral stimulation during unpleasant memory recall followed by free association, similar to Phase 4 of EMDR therapy. Forty-six female nonpatients were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: bilateral eye movements (BEMs), eye fixation with background movements (BDM), or eye fixation (Dot) control, each while recalling a moderately unpleasant memory and each followed by free association to the memory. Electroencephalography recordings were conducted on these participants during the 1-minute free association of the original memory after each of five administrations of the conditions. Results revealed only trend increases in Beta interhemispheric coherence following BEMs. However, statistically significant increases in Right Frontal Theta and Beta intrahemispheric coherences were found following BEMs, with similar trend increases for Left Frontal Theta and Beta and for Right Frontal Gamma. Cortical electrode maps are presented for these Beta coherence effects. Ratings of imagery vividness and emotional valence were collected after each set of eye movements plus free associations and showed a significant decrease across all conditions. Results are discussed within the context of a proposed integrated 2-stage cortical coherence model. Suggestions are made for future research, including investigation of possible implications for treatment of traumatic brain injury.

Hemispheric bases for emotion and memory.

Hemispheric bases for emotion and memory.

Novel and known FRMD7 mutations and copy number variation in Belgian patients with X‐linked idiopathic infantile nystagmus

AbstractPurpose Idiopathic Infantile Nystagmus (IIN [MIM# 310700]) is one of the commonest forms of infantile nystagmus characterized by bilateral uncontrollable eye movements that does not manifest until the child starts to fixate objects at the age of three months leading to low visual acuity scores. Genetically IIN is a heterogeneous disorder which is mostly inherited in an X‐linked fashion. There are three known loci and two identified genes. Approximately 50% of families with X‐linked IIN have been shown to be linked to mutations in the FERM domain‐containing protein 7 (FRMD7) gene. Thus far 45 unique mutations have been reported in FRMD7 related patients with IIN. We investigate the role of FRMD7 mutations and copy number variations in Belgian cohort of 49 unrelated families with a clinical diagnosis of IIN.Methods Forty‐nine families underwent detailed ophthalmological examinations and DNA extraction. We set up a comprehensive molecular genetic test based on Sanger sequencing, targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) and copy number variation (CNV) analysis. The reference sequence used was NM_194277.2.Results In eleven unrelated Belgian families with IIN, seven unique FRMD7 changes were found, five of which are novel: frameshift mutation c.2036del p.(Leu679Argfs*8), missense mutations c.801C>A p.(Phe267Leu) and c.875T>C p.( Leu292Pro), splice site mutation c.497+5G>A and one CNV (1.4 Mb deletion). .Additionally, four known mutations were found: missense mutations c.70G>A p.(Gly24Arg) and c.886G>C p.(Gly296Arg), nonsense mutation c.910C>T p.(Arg303*); frameshift mutations c.2036del p.(Leu679Argfs*8) and c.660del p.(Asn221Ilefs*11) which were found in a three independent families. Haplotype reconstruction suggests a potential founder effect in Belgian IIN patients. Segregation testing of these mutations was performed and supports their pathogenic effect.Conclusion Overall, we found both coding FRMD7 mutations and a CNV in 11/49 Belgian families with IIN (22%) and expand the mutational spectrum of FRMD7 as a common cause of IIN. Finally, our study generates a discovery cohort of IIN patients harboring either undetected mutations in non‐coding region of FRMD7 or in genes at known or novel loci sustaining the genetic heterogeneity of the disease.

The Effects of Bilateral Eye Movements on EEG Coherence When Recalling a Pleasant Memory

In an investigation of the interhemispheric coherence (IhC) model for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) bilateral eye movement (BEM) effects, 30 participants were exposed to a stationary dot, a blinking red/green dot, or saccadic BEMs during the contemplation of a positive emotional memory. Electroencephalographies (EEGs) were measured afterward during an eyes-closed processing stage. Analyses revealed no significant IhC enhancement for the BEM condition but significant increases in Delta and Low Beta EEG intrahemispheric BEM coherence in the right and left frontal areas, respectively, and a trend increase in Right Frontal Low Beta BEM coherence. LORETA neuroimaging was employed to visually present significant amplitude changes corresponding to observed coherence effects. The functional significance of these intrahemispheric coherence effects is presented and a cortical coherence extension of the IhC model is suggested.

The Effect of Bilateral Eye Movements on Emotional Face Recognition Memory Task

MethodsZZTwenty seven healthy right-handed subjects participated in this study. The participants learned faces (angry or neutral face), and then performed a recognition memory task in relation to the faces after bilateral eye movements and central fixation. Recognition accuracy, response bias, and mean response time to hits were compared and analyzed. Two-way repeated measure analysis of variance was performed for statistical analysis.

Two Cases of Intracranial Hypotension with Low-tone Hearing Loss

We report two cases of intracranial hypotension. In one case, MRI showed typical findings, including diffuse thickening, enhancement of the dura mater, and pseudocyst at the level of C6 and 7 resulting from the leakage of CSF. In the other case, treatment with an epidural blood patch (EBP) improved his symptom, almost completely, although no typical findings were pointed out in MRI. The patient presented with bilateral mild hearing loss and abnormal eye movements before the application of the EBP, while the symptoms disappeared after the EBP application. Not all cases show typical findings, therefore, obtaining a proper history, including of any head injury, is important for the diagnosis of intracranial hypotension.

Effects of Saccadic Bilateral Eye Movements on Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory Fluency

Performing a sequence of fast saccadic horizontal eye movements has been shown to facilitate performance on a range of cognitive tasks, including the retrieval of episodic memories. One explanation for these effects is based on the hypothesis that saccadic eye movements increase hemispheric interaction, and that such interactions are important for particular types of memory. The aim of the current research was to assess the effect of horizontal saccadic eye movements on the retrieval of both episodic autobiographical memory (event/incident based memory) and semantic autobiographical memory (fact based memory) over recent and more distant time periods. It was found that saccadic eye movements facilitated the retrieval of episodic autobiographical memories (over all time periods) but not semantic autobiographical memories. In addition, eye movements did not enhance the retrieval of non-autobiographical semantic memory. This finding illustrates a dissociation between the episodic and semantic characteristics of personal memory and is considered within the context of hemispheric contributions to episodic memory performance.

Bilateral saccadic eye movements and tactile stimulation, but not auditory stimulation, enhance memory retrieval

Recent research has shown superior memory retrieval when participants make a series of horizontal saccadic eye movements between the memory encoding phase and the retrieval phase compared to participants who do not move their eyes or move their eyes vertically. It has been hypothesized that the rapidly alternating activation of the two hemispheres that is associated with the series of left–right eye movements is critical in causing the enhanced retrieval. This hypothesis predicts a beneficial effect on retrieval of alternating left–right stimulation not only of the visuomotor system, but also of the somatosensory system, both of which have a strict contralateral organization. In contrast, this hypothesis does not predict an effect, or a weaker effect, on retrieval of alternating left–right stimulation of the auditory system, which has a much less lateralized organization. Consistent with these predictions, we replicated the horizontal saccade-induced retrieval enhancement (Experiment 1) and showed that a similar retrieval enhancement occurs after alternating left–right tactile stimulation (Experiment 2). Furthermore, retrieval was not enhanced after alternating left–right auditory stimulation compared to simultaneous bilateral auditory stimulation (Experiment 3). We discuss the possibility that alternating bilateral activation of the left and right hemispheres exerts its effects on memory by increasing the functional connectivity between the two hemispheres. We also discuss the findings in the context of clinical practice, in which bilateral eye movements (EMDR) and auditory stimulation are used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Effects of traumatic experience and bilateral eye movements on trauma-related and neutral memory: An exploratory study using the DRM paradigm

외상후 스트레스 증상은 외상사건에 대한 역기능적 정보처리와 관련 있는 것으로 알려져 있다. 양측성(수평) 안구운동은 EMDR(eye movement desensitization & reprocessing)에서 핵심적인 치료 요소이지만 작용기제가 이론적으로 명확하게 밝혀지지 않았다. 본 연구는 오기억을 유발하는 DRM(Deese-Roediger-McDermott; Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) 패러다임을 사용해서 외상 경험 및 양측성 안구운동이 기억에 미치는 영향을 검증하기 위한 것이다. 이러한 목적을 이루기 위해 2개의 실험을 실시하였고, 주요 변인은 외상경험의 유무와 안구운동(피험자간 변인), 그리고 단어목록(피험자내 변인)이었고, 종속변인은 학습단어, 유인단어 및 무관련단어의 재인율과 각각의 반응시간이었다. 외상후 스트레스 진단척도에서 15점 이상(Foa, 1995)인 참가자는 외상군으로, 외상적 사건을 경험한 적이 없는 참가자는 통제군으로 분류하였다. 실험 결과, 외상군은 통제군에 비해 학습단어, 특히 중성단어의 정확재인율이 낮고 무관련단어에 대한 오경보율이 높고 반응시간이 느린 양상을 보였다(실험 1, 실험 2). 또한 양측성안구운동의 효과가 정확재인이나 오재인에서 두드러지지 않았으나 양측성(수평)안구운동을 수행한 외상군은 수직안구운동을 수행한 외상군에 비해 학습한 외상단어에 대한 반응시간이 지연되는 양상을 나타내었다(실험 2). 본 연구 결과의 임상적 함의와 제한점이 논의되었다.

Effects of saccadic bilateral eye movements on memory in children and adults: An exploratory study

The effects of saccadic bilateral (horizontal) eye movements on true and false memory in adults and children were investigated. Both adults and children encoded lists of associated words in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm followed by a test of recognition memory. Just prior to retrieval, participants were asked to engage in 30s of bilateral vs. vertical vs. no eye movements. For studied information, the results for adults replicated previous work; bilateral eye movements were demonstrated to increase the accuracy of memory by increasing the hit rate and reducing the false alarm rate for related and unrelated recognition test lures. The results for children also indicated an improvement in memory accuracy, and like adults, was due to both an increase in the hit rate and a reduction in the false alarm rate. In spite of these similarities, the effects of bilateral eye movements differed between adults and children for critical unstudied words; i.e., those associated with the theme of the list. Only in adults did, bilateral eye movements reduce associative false memories; children did not show a reduction in false memory for critical associates. This produced a dissociation between the effects of eye movements on associative false memory as a function of age. The results are discussed from a developmental perspective in terms of potential mechanisms underlying true and false memory.

A Commentary on : A Valid Test of Resource Development and Installation? Absolutely Not

Researchers have published evidence supporting both the “working memory” and the “REM/Orienting Response” hypotheses as mechanisms underlying the documented treatment effects of EMDR on patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Hornsveld et al. (2011) provide additional evidence of the impact of eye movements (EMs) on aspects of positive memory recall, but overstate their findings relevance to resource development and installation (RDI: Korn & Leeds, 2002) and to the interhemispheric interaction hypothesis (Propper & Christman, 2008). Most likely multiple mechanisms underlie the observed effects of EMDR and RDI. The needed RDI test is to randomly assign patients with Disorders of Extreme Stress not Otherwise Specified with measured coping difficulties to alternate conditions: one an RDI procedure without bilateral (or other distracting) sensory stimulation and one with bilateral EMs.

Anaesthesia and airway management of occulo auricular vertebral dysplasia: A rare case report

A 12 year old girl child from the department of Ophthalmology posted for right eye limbal dermoid excision. Opthlamic examination and history revealed bilateral restricted eye movements, limbal dermoids, and decreased vision since birth. Fundus examination showed pathological myopia. There were multiple preauricular appendages in front of both ears. The lateral X-ray of cervical spine showed fused second and third cervical vertebra with loss of intervertebral disc space. Chest X-ray showed scoliosis of Cervico-Thorasic vertebra with convexity to right. Clinical examination of the airway revealed restricted head and neck movements with Mallampatti class II which indicates difficult intubation. The history, clinical examination and radiological findings confirmed her to be a case of Goldenhar syndrome. Difficult airway continues to be a major cause of anaesthesia related complications. Therefore fibre optic intubation under regional nerve block and sedation was planned for the surgery. Lack of associated cardiac and neurological anomalies encouraged us to present the advantage of fibre optic intubation. The larynx was adequately relaxed because of regional nerve block which helped us by decreasing the number of attempt of scopy and vocal cords injury. The intraoperative and postoperative period was uneventful.

The Influence of Bilateral Eye Movement on Recognition Memory Task Performance

Bo-Ra Lee, MD, Ji-Woong Kim, MD, PhD, Suk-Won Kwon, PhD, Hyuk-Chan Kwon, PhD, Ki-Woong Kim, PhD, Min-Young Kim, PhD, Ji-Eun Kim, MS, Kwon-Kyu Yu, MS, Yong-Ho Lee, PhD and Sang-Hyun Lim, MS 1 Department of Psychiatry, Konyang University College of Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea 2 Brain and Cognition Measurement Laboratory, Division of Convergence Technology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon, Korea Department of Medical Physics, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea

Role of three‐dimensional ultrasound measurement of the optic tract in fetuses with agenesis of the septum pellucidum

To construct reference ranges for fetal optic tract mean diameter and to report measurements in fetuses with agenesis of the septum pellucidum (SP). Three-dimensional volumes of the optic chiasm were acquired in 98 normal fetuses during routine sonographic examination at 21-36 weeks' gestation and the diameters of the posterior left and right optic tracts were measured offline. A polynomial regression approach (mean and SD model) was used to compute reference charts for the mean fetal optic tract diameter measurements. In addition, 23 volumes were acquired in fetuses with SP agenesis for offline measurement of optic tract diameter. Complete follow-up was obtained in 13 of these 23 cases. In normal fetuses, the optic tract diameter increased linearly throughout gestation. There was no evidence of increased variability with gestational age (constant SD). Normal charts and equations for Z-score calculation were constructed. Among the 13 fetuses with SP agenesis and complete follow-up, nine had normal measurements, of which eight had normal vision postnatally. Four had hypoplastic optic tract, defined as mean optic tract diameter Z-score below - 3. Of these, two underwent termination of pregnancy and pathological examination confirmed hypoplasia of the tract, one showed signs of hypoplasia at magnetic resonance imaging and postnatal examination confirmed blindness, and one had a hypoplastic measurement for only one tract and was born with poor vision and abnormal bilateral eye movements. We present new reference charts for mean fetal optic tract diameter. In fetuses with agenesis of the SP, sonography of the optic tract might be a useful tool to assess its development and may help in prenatal counseling.

Do Horizontal Saccadic Eye Movements Increase Interhemispheric Coherence? Investigation of a Hypothesized Neural Mechanism Underlying EMDR

Series of horizontal saccadic eye movements (EMs) are known to improve episodic memory retrieval in healthy adults and to facilitate the processing of traumatic memories in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Several authors have proposed that EMs achieve these effects by increasing the functional connectivity of the two brain hemispheres, but direct evidence for this proposal is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether memory enhancement following bilateral EMs is associated with increased interhemispheric coherence in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Fourteen healthy young adults were asked to freely recall lists of studied neutral and emotional words after a series of bilateral EMs and a control procedure. Baseline EEG activity was recorded before and after the EM and control procedures. Phase and amplitude coherence between bilaterally homologous brain areas were calculated for six frequency bands and electrode pairs across the entire scalp. Behavioral analyses showed that participants recalled more emotional (but not neutral) words following the EM procedure than following the control procedure. However, the EEG analyses indicated no evidence that the EMs altered participants’ interhemispheric coherence or that improvements in recall were correlated with such changes in coherence. These findings cast doubt on the interhemispheric interaction hypothesis, and therefore may have important implications for future research on the neurobiological mechanism underlying EMDR.

Effects of handedness and saccadic bilateral eye movements on components of autobiographical recollection

The effects of handedness and saccadic bilateral eye movements on autobiographical recollection were investigated. Recall of autobiographical memories was cued by the use of neutral and emotional words. Autobiographical recollection was assessed by the autobiographical memory questionnaire. Experiment 1 found that mixed-handed (vs. right handed) individuals demonstrated greater levels of autobiographical recollection on the components of seeing, hearing, and emotion. Experiment 2 found that following 30 s of bilateral eye movements, greater levels of autobiographical recollection were demonstrated on the components of reliving, seeing, hearing, emotion, self-perspective and veridicality. The results extend previous research by showing that the recollective components of real world memories can be enhanced by either mixed-handedness or eye movements. In addition, these results provide a bridge between laboratory studies of recollection and autobiographical recollection. The findings are considered in terms of research on the cognitive neuroscience of autobiographical memory.

Bilateral Eye Movements, Attentional Flexibility and Metaphor Comprehension: The Substrate of REM Dreaming?

Explanations for the effects of the rapid eye movements induced during Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR; Shapiro, 2001) have drawn upon an analogy with the eye movements of REM sleep (Kuiken, Bears, Miall, and Smith, 2002). An extension of that analogy posits two orienting systems, one involving threat-fear related mnemonic contextualization and another involving loss-pain related monitoring of conflicting response alternatives. In a study involving individuals who had recently experienced significant loss or trauma, we found that experimentally induced saccadic eye movements decreased reaction times to unexpected stimuli among those reporting traumatic distress (characterized by hyperarousal and intrusive thoughts) and increased reaction times among those reporting separation distress (characterized by vivid reminiscences and the sense of a foreshortened future). Also, we found that saccadic eye movements increased the perceived strikingness of metaphoric sentence endings among those reporting amnesia for events related to either loss or trauma. The eye movements of both EMDR and REM sleep may differently affect the attentional and cognitive reorienting activity of those living with the consequences of loss or trauma. These differences may be evident in their waking reflections and in their dreams.