Pharmacologic evidence for specificity of pursuit dysfunction to schizophrenia. Lithium carbonate associated with abnormal pursuit.
Conflicting findings regarding the prevalence of abnormal smooth-pursuit eye movements in patients with major affective disorders call into question the specificity of impaired smooth-pursuit eye movements to schizophrenia. We report that pursuit is impaired in 88% of lithium carbonate-treated affective disorder patients whose pursuit was normal prior to receiving this drug. Over half of lithium carbonate-treated affective disorder patients in remission also showed impairment of smooth-pursuit eye movements. In conjunction with recent prevalence data on family members of psychiatric patients, the findings support the specificity of abnormal pursuit as a biological trait associated with schizophrenia, but not with the major affective disorders. The mechanisms by which lithium carbonate impairs pursuit are discussed.
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000187:drug effects; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016651:Lithium Carbonate; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
D016651:Lithium Carbonate; D008094:Lithium