TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1999//
TI  - Dysfunction in smooth pursuit eye movements and history of childhood trauma
JO  - Perceptual and motor skills
A1  - Irwin, H. J.
A1  - Green, M. J.
A1  - Marsh, P. J.
SP  - 1230
EP  - 1236
VL  - 89
IS  - 3
N2  - 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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0031-5125
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -