Schizophrenia, eye movements, and biocultural heterogeneity.
Smooth-pursuit eye-tracking dysfunction is a putative genetic trait marker for schizophrenia. In this study 88 Japanese schizophrenics from Kyushu and Okinawa were examined for the marker using precise high-resolution instrumentation: 76% of the schizophrenics from Kyushu and 89% of those from Okinawa had pursuit dysfunction. The presence of the culture-neutral smooth-pursuit marker for schizophrenia in Japan demonstrates that the etic concept "schizophrenia" is cross-culturally valid. Furthermore, the ubiquity of the marker in biologically and culturally diverse populations may indicate a limit on the extent of meaningful heterogeneity likely to be discovered within the condition.
Allen
J S
JS
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Matsunaga
K
K
Nakamura
T
T
Kitamura
F
F
Furukawa
T
T
Hacisalihzade
S S
SS
Sarich
V M
VM
Stark
L
L
D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003469:Culture; D005133:Eye Movements; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology
D005819:Genetic Markers