Eye movements reflect impaired face processing in patients with schizophrenia

Background: Impaired processing effaces in patients with schizophrenia may underlie aspects of disturbance in their social interaction. This study exa mined patterns of eye fixation in subjects with schizophrenia and nonpsychi atric controls, while processing a high resolution picture of a neutral fac e and a nonbiological complex geometric stimulus. Methods: Ten-second sequences of eye movement were recorded video-oculograp hically (50 samples/sec) while subjects were "free-viewing" the stimuli. Ar t essential element of the study was customized software that ensured stimu lus presentation on a video display only after subjects were fixated upon a centre-screen cue, so that all subjects began stimulus processing from the same point. Results: Compared with the control group, subjects with schizophrenia exhib ited reduced scanpath lengths and a tendency toward fewer fixations for the face stimulus. They also showed art initial relative right spatial hemineg lect (for the first voluntary fixation) when viewing the Rey figure, but no t when viewing the face stimulus. Overall, there were no significant differ ences between the schizophrenia and control groups in the lateral distribut ion of subsequent fixations for either stimulus. Conclusions: Disturbed spatial and temporal patterns of eye movement in som e people with schizophrenia may reflect sub-optimal processing of face stim uli, that may predispose these individuals to dysfunctional interpretation of facial communication cues. Biol Psychiatry 1999;46:963-969 (C) 1999 Soci ety of Biological Psychiatry.