Dysfunction in smooth pursuit eye movements and history of childhood trauma.
Several commentators recently have advocated the view that a deficit in the performance of a smooth pursuit eye-movement task is a biological marker of the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. This study considered the possibility that such an impairment is due in part to experiential or acquired characteristics, and specifically, to a history of childhood trauma. A sample of 100 Australian adults performed a visual tracking task and completed a self-report measure of childhood trauma. Although the effect size was small, a relationship was found between eye-tracking performance and a childhood history of physical and emotional abuse. This finding suggests that eye-tracking performance may not be governed entirely by genetic factors, a possibility that has implications for the use of indices of smooth pursuit eye movement as a purely genetic marker of proneness to schizophrenia. Further investigation is needed to clarify the basis of the association between these deficits and childhood abuse.
Irwin
H J
HJ
School of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia. hirwin@metz.une.edu.au
Green
M J
MJ
Marsh
P J
PJ
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015835:Ocular Motility Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011336:Probability; D011698:Pursuit, Smooth / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D005819:Genetic Markers