RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Auditory saccade impairment after central thalamus lesions
JF Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
JO J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 234
OP 237
DO 10.1136/jnnp.68.2.234
VO 68
IS 2
A1 M Versino
A1 G Beltrami
A1 C Uggetti
A1 V Cosi
YR 2000
UL http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/68/2/234.abstract
AB Visual and auditory saccades were studied in three patients with an isolated lesion located in the central thalamus. Visual saccades proved to be normal, whereas for auditory stimuli, the amplitude of the first saccade was asymmetric: saccades ipsilateral to the lesion were significantly smaller than those directed to the contralateral side. The patients were able to make a corrective saccade and hence to improve gain and to decrease gain asymmetry. It is suggested that patients were able to localise auditory targets correctly, but did not correctly take into account eye position during the saccade, probably as a consequence of an inaccurate efference copy (corollary discharge) signal. The findings are in keeping with the hypothesis that the central thalamus deals with saccades that are based on extraretinal signals.