FIXATION STABILITY AMONG SCHIZOPHRENIA-PATIENTS

Twenty-four schizophrenia and 26 normal subjects were presented target s for fixation at +/- 17.5 degrees and 0 degrees of visual angle. The manner in which stimuli were presented allowed us to evaluate for the presence of gaze-evoked and rebound drifts, and for frequency of sacca des at both eccentric and central fixation. Schizophrenia patients and normal subjects had remarkably similar performance regardless of stim ulus condition. These results suggest that the gaze-holding apparatus is functioning normally among schizophrenia patients, a finding that i s not easily attributable to either medication effects and/or low stat istical power. These data are another indication that schizophrenia pa tients have specific, not general, abnormalities of ocular motor contr ol.