Eye tracking disorder in schizophrenia is characterized by specific ocular motor defects and is associated with the deficit syndrome

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and early adulthood. Finally, deviant functioning in the adoptees compared to 50 non-adoptee controls will be reported.

fA) EYE-MOVEMENT, ATIENTIONAL AND FRONTAL DYSFUNCTIONS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA Michael Obuchowski , Barbara Comblatt, Tak Chun Chan, John A. Sweeney Hillside Hospital, Psychiatry Research . 75-59263<4 Street. Glen Oaks. NY 11004. USA

Schizophrenic patients display deficits on measures on eyetracking, attention, and frontal functioning . However, the extent to which these abnormalities are related to each is still unclear. To further explore this relationship, 23 patients with schizophrenia were evaluated on measures of eyetracking, attention, and frontal functioning. Eye-movements were measured using infrared (IR) eyetracking system with pure ramp task and target velocities ranging from 4- to 26 degrees/sec visual angle. Attention was evaluated using the Cont inuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs Version (CPT-IP) using both verbal and nonverbal conditions . Frontal functioning was measured using the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WeST). All subjects' clinical status was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). As expected, schizophrenic patients were significantly impaired on most of the primary indices of administered measures when compared to non-psychiatric comparison groups. However, there were no clear relationships among any of the neurocognitive measures. In addition, there was no significant relationship between the neurocognitive measures and clinical symptoms. as measured by PANSS. The results provide more support for possible independence of different neurocognitive abnormalities in schizophrenia. In addition, lack of relationship with clinical symptoms suggests that neurocognitive deficits are in general independent of clinical state.

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EYE TRACKING DISORDER IN SCHIZOPHRENIA IS CHARACTERIZED BY SPECIFIC OCULAR MOTOR DEFECTS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEFICIT SYNDROME David E. Ross, Gunvant K. Thaker, Robert W. Buchanan, Brian Kirkpatrick, Adrienne C. Lahti, Deborah R. Medoff, lohn J. Bartko, Jason Goodman Allen Y. Tien ' Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. University of Maryland Medical System. Baltimore. MD21228 Background: Despite years of research, the relationship between global and specific measures of smooth pursuit eye

movements in schizophrenia remains poorly understood. Also, the relationship between poor eye tracking and psychopathology in schizophrenia is unclear. Objectives: To determine the relationships betweeneye tracking disorder (ETD) in schizophrenia, specific ocular motor measures and the deficit syndrome. Methods: Twenty-five normal comparison subjects and 58 schizophrenic patients had eye movements tested with infrared oculography using a sinusoidal target . Patients were assessed with the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome. Results: For the patients, there were small (R2 less than 0.10) and significant correlations between eye tracking measures and oro-facial tardive dyskinesia. Therefore, oro-facial TO was co-varied out of the following analyses. The distribution of position RMS error (a global measure of pursuit) was best fit by a mixture of two normal distributions . This information was used to divide the patients into two subgroups, those with and without ETD. EID was almost completely accounted for by several specificocular motor measures and was significantly associated with the deficit syndrome. Discussion: The finding that ETD was almost completely accounted for by specificmeasures bridges a gap of interpretation in this field. EID and the deficitsyndrome ofschizophrenia may share a common pathophysiology of cortical-subcortical cerebral circuits.

6q~ SMOOTH PURSUIT EYE MOVEMENTS IN PARENTS OF SCHIZOPHRENIC PROBANDS; A MOST LIKELY CARRIER APPROACH Randal G. Ross, Josette Harris, Ann Olincy, Allen Radant, Lawrence Adler, Robert Freedman University of Colorado Health Sci Center. Box C268-71, 4200 E 9th Ave. Denver CO 80262

Schizophrenic adults and their unaffected relatives show an increased frequency of smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) abnormalities; SPEM abnormalities may be a marker of genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia. SPEM abnormalities may be due to an underlying deficit in smooth pursuit tracking or to the intrusion of anticipatory saccades upon otherwise normal tracking . The study uses a 'most-likely-[geneticj-carrier (MLC)' approach to more firmly tie specific SPEM abnormalities to presumed genetic vulnerability. SPEM was recorded in schizophren ic adults where both biological parents were also available for study. In those families where one and only one parent had an ancestral history of schizophrenia, it was proposed that the parent with the ancestral history (the MLC) was more ~kely to be the genetic carrier than was their spouse; 'the-Iess-likelycarrier (LLC)'. Schizophrenic adults were significantly worse than controls on most measures of smooth pursuit trac!r::ing including gain, catch-up saccades, anticipatory saccades, and large anticipatory saccades. However. among the parents. only small anticipatory saccades showed significant differences among the parental groups with MLC worse than LLC ~d controls. LLC did not differ from controls. An increase m mostly small anticipatory saccades appears to be the SPEM