Smooth pursuit

Cognitive psychology

Neuroscience

Saccade

Psychiatry

Eye movement

Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming)

Psychology

Movement control

Medicine

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Saccadic masking

Neurophysiology

Neuropsychopharmacology Reports

Eye movements are indispensable for the collection of visual information in everyday life. Many findings regarding the neural basis of eye movements have been accumulated from neurophysiological and psychophysical studies. In the field of psychiatry, studies on eye movement characteristics in mental illnesses have been conducted since the early 1900s. Participants with schizophrenia are known to have characteristic eye movements during smooth pursuit, saccade control, and visual search. Recently, studies evaluating eye movement characteristics as biomarkers for schizophrenia have attracted considerable attention. In this article, we review the neurophysiological basis of eye movement control and eye movement characteristics in schizophrenia. Furthermore, we discuss the prospects for eye movements as biomarkers for mental illnesses.

Eye movement characteristics in schizophrenia: A recent update with clinical implications