Impairment of predictive saccades in schizophrenia

Using infrared oculography, we compared saccades toward predictable and pse udo-random visual targets in 19 neuroleptic-free patients with schizophreni a (including 13 neuroleptic-naive patients) and in 29 age- and gender-march ed healthy volunteers. Externally driven saccades were not different betwee n patients and controls, whether or not the target was predictable. Anticip ated saccades were specifically less accurate in the patients compared to t he controls. The difference between primary gain of anticipated and non-ant icipated saccades was markedly higher in the patients compared to controls (p=0.003). These results point to a deficit in the early step of internally driven oculomotor planning in schizophrenia. NeuroReport 12:465-469 (C) 20 01 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.