Saccadic eye movements in mild traumatic brain injury: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can lead to persistent disability.
• Current monitoring methods for mTBI recovery may not be sensitive enough.
• Saccadic reaction time (SRT) is a measure of eye movement control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of repeated SRT measurements using a portable saccadometer for monitoring mTBI patients.
• To determine if SRT can identify individuals at risk for prolonged recovery.

Main Methods:

• Prospective recruitment of seven mTBI patients and five age-matched controls.
• Saccadic eye movement recordings, symptom reporting, and neuropsychological tests were conducted within one week and at three weeks post-injury.
• Comparison of SRT between mTBI patients and controls at two time points.

Main Results:

• Median SRT was significantly prolonged in mTBI patients compared to controls within one week post-injury.
• No significant group difference in SRT at three-week follow-up.
• Four mTBI patients showed increased SRT at follow-up; three had persistent SRT changes, correlating with ongoing symptoms or cognitive deficits.

Conclusions:

• Repeat SRT measurements show potential for identifying a subset of mTBI patients at risk for persistent disability.
• Three mTBI patients with delayed SRT at three weeks also exhibited persistent symptoms or cognitive decline.
• Further large-scale studies are warranted to validate SRT as a monitoring tool for mTBI.