title: Quantitative assessment of influence of aging on optokinetic nystagmus.
abstract: A quantitative assessment of the influence of aging on optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) was investigated using 50 normal adults in ages ranging from 30 to 70 years. In linear stimulus-induced OKN, a statistically significant difference was demonstrated in slow-phase OKN velocity only between the 30-59 year old age group and the 70-79-year-old age group, when OKN stimulus was more than 60 degrees/s. Step stimulus-induced OKN was investigated in the same age groups in order to compare aging effects upon slow-phase OKN velocity. No statistically significant difference was found in slow-phase OKN velocity between younger age groups and the oldest age group. There was no significant difference in fast-phase velocity among the age groups. Thus, step-induced OKN has a wider clinical application than linear stimulus-induced OKN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanayama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koike
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D004585:Electrooculography; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017120:Nystagmus, Optokinetic / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted