Saccadic paradigms in restless legs syndrome with and without augmentation: An eye-tracking study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder.
• Long-term dopaminergic therapy for RLS can lead to augmentation and impulse control disorders.
• Executive dysfunction and impulsivity are potential consequences of augmentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of saccadic eye movement paradigms in detecting impulsivity and executive dysfunction in RLS patients.
• To specifically assess RLS patients experiencing augmentation due to dopaminergic therapy.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 47 nondemented RLS patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were recruited.
• Patients were divided into RLS controls (no augmentation) and RLS + AUG (with augmentation).
• An eye-tracking battery including prosaccade, antisaccade, and stop signal tasks was administered to all participants.

Main Results:

• RLS + AUG patients showed significantly higher error rates in all saccadic tasks compared to HC, indicating impaired inhibitory control.
• RLS controls had error rates similar to HC.
• While overall reaction times did not differ, RLS + AUG patients exhibited longer reaction times on correct antisaccade trials.

Conclusions:

• RLS + AUG patients demonstrate deficits in oculomotor response inhibition, suggesting executive dysfunction and increased impulsivity.
• These findings highlight the potential of eye tracking as a clinical tool for monitoring dopaminergic therapy in RLS.
• Further longitudinal studies with larger cohorts are needed to explore the temporal relationship between dopaminergic exposure, augmentation, and impulse control symptoms.