Visual function and execution of microsaccades related to reading skills, in cerebral palsied children.
This article investigates the ability of cerebral palsied (CP) children to execute microsaccades. One-hundred and five congenitally CP school aged children (6 to 15 years old), without severe mental retardation, were classified into three groups: those with spastic quadriplegi, spastic diplegics, and spastic hemiplegics on the basis of: (1) patient anamnesis, (2) IQ estimation, (3) evaluation of the microsaccadic skills with the Developmental Eye Movement test (DEM). Their performance in these tests was compared with a control group from the general pediatric population. IQ of the CP children ranged between 70 and 100; the microsaccadic skills were severely affected: only 19% of the CP children had normal function, 20.9% of the CP children appeared with a pure oculomotor problem, 32.4% of the CP children had a visual-perceptual problem, and 27.7% of the CP children had a combined oculomotor and visual perceptual problem. CP children, in the absence of severe mental retardation, have disturbed visual skills and visual perception that usually leads to reading difficulties. It is also suggested that microsaccadic skills of CP children is an identifiable factor compounding the adverse effects of mental retardation on reading skills.
Kozeis
Nikos
N
Department of Ophthalmology, Hippokrateion Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. nkozeis@med.auth.gr
Anogeianaki
Antonia
A
Mitova
Daniela Tosheva
DT
Anogianakis
George
G
Mitov
Tosho
T
Felekidis
Anastasios
A
Saiti
Paraskevi
P
Klisarova
Anelia
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015835:Ocular Motility Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009801:Oculomotor Muscles / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology