Quantitative assessment of smooth-pursuit eye movements in healthy and epileptic subjects

A quantitative electro-oculographic method was used to assess the impairment in smooth-pursuit and vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression eye movements in 12 epileptic patients and eight normal volunteers. Both types of eye movement were impaired by a factor of 40% in the epileptic patients, and the impairment was at least partly due to the treatment with phenytoin and phenobarbitone. There was a strong positive correlation between the performances in vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression and smooth-pursuit.