Oculomotor Function Testing and White Matter Integrity in Patients with Post-Concussion Syndrome

Objectives: To assess self-paced saccadic (SPS) eye movements in patients with postconcussion syndrome (PCS), and use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the white matter (WM) neural correlates of these eye movements. Methods: Fifty-nine PCS patients with at least two concussions performed the SPS task. We evaluated the relationships between the number of SPS and the number of self-reported symptoms and integrity of major WM tracts involved in visual processing (uncinate fasciculus (UF), cingulum (Cg), superior longitudinal fasciculus, and corpus callosum). Results: Number of SPS was negatively correlated with the total number of symptoms patients reported (r=-0.419, p=0.026). Positive correlations were seen between number of SPS and fractional anisotropy of left UF and left Cg (r=0.421, p=0.013; and r=0.452, p=0.008; respectively). Conclusion: SPS testing may reflect symptom burden in patients with PCS and since it is associated with WM integrity, it could be a diagnostic biomarker in patients with PCS.M.Sc