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Blink rate in childhood-onset schizophrenia: comparison with normal and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
L K Jacobsen1, D W Hommer, W L Hong
1Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Insights
Children with childhood-onset schizophrenia exhibit higher blink rates during smooth pursuit compared to controls. Clozapine treatment did not significantly alter blink rates in these children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychiatry
- Psychopharmacology
Background:
- Central dopaminergic pathways are implicated in blink rate modulation.
- Elevated blink rates are a known characteristic of schizophrenia in adolescents and adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate blink rate during smooth pursuit in children with childhood-onset schizophrenia.
- To compare blink rates between schizophrenic children, normal children, and children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- To assess the effect of clozapine on blink rate in childhood-onset schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Blink rate during smooth pursuit was measured in 17 children with childhood-onset schizophrenia (on and off clozapine).
- Comparisons were made with age-matched normal children and unmedicated children with ADHD.
- Clinical variables and smooth pursuit performance were assessed.
Main Results:
- Children with childhood-onset schizophrenia showed significantly higher blink rates than normal and ADHD controls.
- Clozapine treatment did not significantly change blink rates within the schizophrenic group.
- Blink rate did not correlate with clinical variables in schizophrenic children.
- In normal subjects, blink rate positively correlated with impaired smooth pursuit.
Conclusions:
- Childhood-onset schizophrenia is associated with increased blink rate, consistent with findings in older schizophrenic populations.
- Clozapine does not appear to normalize blink rate in children with schizophrenia.
- Blink rate may serve as a potential biomarker for dopaminergic pathway dysfunction in childhood-onset schizophrenia.
Abstract:
Several lines of evidence have implicated central dopaminergic pathways in the modulation of blink rate. In the present study, blink rate during smooth pursuit was examined in 17 children with childhood-onset schizophrenia, on and off of clozapine, and compared to that of age-matched normal children and unmedicated children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As has been observed in adolescent and adult schizophrenics, blink rate was significantly higher in schizophrenic children relative to normal and ADHD controls. Within the schizophrenic group, blink rate did not significantly change with the introduction of clozapine and was not related to clinical variables. Blink rate was positively correlated with deterioration in smooth pursuit in normal subjects.