Cranial Nerve Exam: Abnormal Examples: Optokinetic Nystagmus

This patient has poor optokinetic nystagmus when the tape is moved to the right or left. The patient lacks the input from the parietal-occipital gaze centers to initiate smooth pursuit movements therefore her visual tracking of the objects on the tape is inconsistent and erratic. Patients who have a lesion of the parietal-occipital gaze center will have absent optokinetic nystagmus when the tape is moved toward the side of the lesion. NeuroLogic Exam has been supported by a grant from the Slice of Life Development Fund at the University of Utah, the Department of Pediatrics and the Office of Education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Viewing the video requires installation of the free QuickTime Plug-in