Smooth pursuit in infants: maturation and the influence of stimulation

Pieh, Christina; Proudlock, Frank A; Gottlob, Irène

doi:10.1136/bjo.2010.191726

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The large improvement in smooth pursuit performance on the 9 degree-per-second task between four and six months of age suggests rapid development of these brain regions over that time span. However, in contrast to previous work suggesting that the development of brain areas controlling SPEM is fairly mature by six months of age [24,28], the lack of an age effect and the finding that overall performance remains far below adult levels, even for six-month-olds, suggest that additional maturation of these brain regions remains.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Three established infant SPEM measures were assessed: (a) the percentage of time spent in smooth pursuit (calculated by dividing the time spent in smooth pursuit by the total artifact-free time including both smooth pursuit and saccades; (b) the frequency of forward saccades (number per second of artifact free recording); and (c) the longest duration of uninterrupted smooth pursuit the child was able to generate [24,28–30]. Figure 1 shows a sample tracing.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been suggested that smooth pursuit performance in typically developing infants is relatively mature by six months of age in normally developing infants [24]. However, the work to date has focused on normative development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Anxiety is Associated with Less Developed Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements in Six-Month-Old Infants: An Initial Study

Pellegrino

Ross

Hunter

2013

INDJ

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Aims There are an increasing number of reports suggesting an association between maternal anxiety experienced during pregnancy and adverse outcomes of the offspring. However, exploration of the biological changes in the brain that mediate that relationship has been hampered by the lack of appropriate biomarkers. This report represents an initial step exploring whether a potential infant biomarker, smooth pursuit eye movements, may be associated with prenatal exposure to maternal anxiety. Study Design Blinded cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine. Data collected from July 2011 to May 2012. Methodology Forty-three infants including 34 whose prenatal maternal anxiety status was identified (12 with a known maternal prenatal anxiety diagnosis and 22 without) had eye movements recorded during a smooth pursuit eye movement task at four and/or six months of age. Results At 6 months of age, infants with prenatal exposure to maternal anxiety, compared to infants without such exposure, spent a higher percentage of time utilizing smooth pursuit (t=2.7, df=24, P=.013), had longer duration of smooth pursuit uninterrupted by saccades (t=2.5, df=24, P=.019), and had decreased frequency of forward saccades (t=3.8, df=24, P=.001). No differences between groups were identified at 4 months of age. Conclusion Smooth pursuit abnormalities may, at six months of age, be a potential biomarker for prenatal maternal anxiety exposure.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Anxiety is Associated with Less Developed Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements in Six-Month-Old Infants: An Initial Study

Pellegrino

Ross

Hunter

2013

INDJ

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“…The mean velocity of smooth pursuit was therefore 3.5°–15°/s, although maxima of smooth pursuit gains of 1–1.2 were observed (7.5–45°/s) [9]. In a study of smooth pursuit on healthy full-term newborns, eye movement velocities were found below 15°/s, and, most often, even below 10°/s [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Fetal Eye Movements on Magnetic Resonance Imaging

et al. 2013

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ObjectivesEye movements are the physical expression of upper fetal brainstem function. Our aim was to identify and differentiate specific types of fetal eye movement patterns using dynamic MRI sequences. Their occurrence as well as the presence of conjugated eyeball motion and consistently parallel eyeball position was systematically analyzed.MethodsDynamic SSFP sequences were acquired in 72 singleton fetuses (17–40 GW, three age groups [17–23 GW, 24–32 GW, 33–40 GW]). Fetal eye movements were evaluated according to a modified classification originally published by Birnholz (1981): Type 0: no eye movements; Type I: single transient deviations; Type Ia: fast deviation, slower reposition; Type Ib: fast deviation, fast reposition; Type II: single prolonged eye movements; Type III: complex sequences; and Type IV: nystagmoid.ResultsIn 95.8% of fetuses, the evaluation of eye movements was possible using MRI, with a mean acquisition time of 70 seconds. Due to head motion, 4.2% of the fetuses and 20.1% of all dynamic SSFP sequences were excluded.Eye movements were observed in 45 fetuses (65.2%). Significant differences between the age groups were found for Type I (p = 0.03), Type Ia (p = 0.031), and Type IV eye movements (p = 0.033). Consistently parallel bulbs were found in 27.3–45%.ConclusionsIn human fetuses, different eye movement patterns can be identified and described by MRI in utero. In addition to the originally classified eye movement patterns, a novel subtype has been observed, which apparently characterizes an important step in fetal brainstem development. We evaluated, for the first time, eyeball position in fetuses. Ultimately, the assessment of fetal eye movements by MRI yields the potential to identify early signs of brainstem dysfunction, as encountered in brain malformations such as Chiari II or molar tooth malformations.

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“…All the investigated risk factors might affect the rapid phase of brain development or induce structural damage by inflammation, hypovolemia, hypotension, hypoxia, hypercarbia, and inadequate nutrition and growth. These different pathogenic factors might, within the frame of this study, affect the rapid and vulnerable development of the visual cortical pathways (1,4–8). Development of SP is dependent on intact visual pathways in the brain, both the subcortical pathways – the major visual pathways for motion stimuli during the infant’s first 6–8 weeks – and the primary visual cortical pathways that become the major visual pathways after 6–8 weeks and develop rapidly during early infancy (1,29).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%