Smooth pursuit eye movements in psychopathology

Reports of disrupted pursuit eye movements in schizophrenic patients are traced historically. Most of these reports emphasize the specificity for schizophrenia, although such specificity has yet to be demonstrated. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that, in the absence of neurological disease, the stable appearance of tracking dysfunctions is genetically transmitted, although their precise relationship to schizophrenia has yet to be decided. The study of this phenomenon can help elucidate several murky areas of psychopathology, including problems of heterogeneity, the central nervous system processes possibly involved, the study of risk populations, and the nonmotivational aspects of schizophrenia.