Eye movement abnormalities in movement disorders

The visual system represents the most well-developed sensory system in humans, who are highly dependent on vision for organized response to their environment. The region of eye that is responsible for sharp central vision is the fovea. Thus, to see the world, images of objects of interest should fall on fovea. This is achieved through various sets of eye movements, all of which work together to keep the image of the target object on the fovea. It is therefore not surprising that a large part of the human brain is devoted to eye movements (e.g., several cortical and subcortical areas, including the brainstem, cerebellum and basal ganglia). Given that a large area of brain is devoted to eye movements, it is not surprising to find eye movement abnormalities in various brain disorders, including movement disorders. In fact, many of the movement disorders commonly encountered in clinical practice are associated with characteristic eye movement abnormalities that not only help in specific diagnosis, but also contribute to morbidity associated with these disorders. In this article, we review the pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, and significance of various eye movement abnormalities in patients with various movement disorders.