So what is it about a Schitzophrenic that is so off putting? Many believe it is the eye movement. The Frontal Eye Fields are directly responsible for eye movement and attention. Often people with Schitzophrenia have trouble with focusing and exhibit erratic eye movements. So, it comes to no surprise that scientists have designed a test with almost 100% accuracy that diagnoses schizophrenia. Not surprisingly, it is an eye test.
Researchers at Aberdeen University in Scotland have discovered that many schizophrenics struggle to track slow moving objects with their eyes. They also have trouble maintaining focus. This simple test is said to be 98% effective in broadly diagnosing schizophrenics.
But why just the eyes? Why do people with schizophrenia exhibit poor eye movement and focus? The reason lies in damage to the brain. Damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex caused by degenerative brain damage as a result of schizophrenia can cause decrease eye movement and function. Specifically, researchers believe that damage to this area, also known as the frontal eye fields, is a result of schizophrenia.
Dr. Benson, a researcher at Aberdeen stated, "It has been known for over a hundred years that individuals with psychotic illnesses have a variety of eye movement abnormalities, but until our study, using a novel battery of tests, no one thought the abnormalities were sensitive enough to be used as potential clinical diagnostic biomarkers."
So what does this mean? While treatment for schizophrenia still lies in the hands of Psychiatrists and psychoactive drugs, now researchers and neurologists have a accurate and simple way to diagnose schizophrenics. Hopefully, now that the frontal eye fields are becoming more and more associated with psychoactive diseases such as schizophrenia, more efforts can be directed towards the treatment of said diseases.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/schizophrenia-diagnosed-by-simple-eye-test-1-2608469
http://www.leidenuniv.nl/fsw/sppef/abstracts/kathmann_en.htm
I have always been fascinated with schizophrenia, it is one of those conditions that baffles me. I spent a lot of time in high school reading about it and I liked that you focused on the "crazy eyes" symptom. It was one of the side effects, for lack of a better word, that intrigued me the most. I would caution using the eye abnormality as a diagnosis tool though. I would think that eye abnormalities could be the result of numerous things. However, if they meant that it was only to be used to indicate that there was something wrong, and not what specifically was wrong, I would agree with that assessment.
ReplyDeleteSchizophrenia has always been one of the most fascinating psychopathology disorders to me. I remember watching the "Beautiful Mind" which was a film about a schizophrenic man, except in the movie his eyes didn't come off to be so unusual. Basically when watching the movie, you are unaware of the fact that the man is a schizophrenic and each scene is showed through his eyes. But if you go back and re watch the movie you can see how certain scenes or people he talks to shouldn't really be there, and his mind is playing tricks on him. Ive never met a schizophrenic and was ignorant to the fact that they experience erratic eye movement, but when I come to think about it, I can understand how that makes sense since they do tend to believe and see things that aren't really there. I am currently just starting to learn about schizophrenia in my Abnormal Psychology class and we've discussed about certain anti-psychotic medications which are used as a treatment for schizophrenics to balance their thought disorder, mood disorder, and anxiety disorders.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the researchers at Aberdeen were able to make an accurate diagnostic test based on eye tracking. Is this test just for the diagnosis of general schizophrenia? It would be interesting to see if there are differences among the different subtypes of schizophrenic patients. From flipping through the DSM-IV-TR I would take a guess that disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual types woud probably show abnormal eye movement, but maybe not the paranoid type. Has anyone read any research looking at differences in frontal eye field deficits in different types of schizophrenics?
ReplyDeleteA Beautiful Mind was a movie about John Nash, a Nobel peprize winner in Economics. I also watched it in my Abnormal Psychology class a while back.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to find out more about the method they use. They mention as "simple viewing tests," but I'd like to know what exactly they did. It almost sounds like they just observed their eyes, but considering it's a test that has 98% accuracy for diagnosing schizophrenia, I'd like to think it's a bit more machine-y.
Also, I'd like to bring up the point that frontal eye fields could possibly be damaged without having the patient have schizophrenia. This is a really interesting find, thanks;)
Thank you for posting such an interesting story. Like the many commenters above me, I have always been very fascinated with schizophrenia, possibly because it is either so rare to come by or because it is such a strange psychological disorder. SInce moving to Chicago, I have come across two schizophrenics that are homeless and live in the area around my apartment. I have consistently observed them for about the past two years and I see them almost everyday walking to and from school. At first, I was not quite sure what was plaguing them, but now I am almost for certain that it is schizophrenia. Just like you said in your post, both of these individuals have eye movement abnormality. I have also noticed that this abnormality has gotten progressively worse as time has gone by. I think that it is fascinating that a psychological disorder can be narrowed down by simply looking at the frontal eye fields and observing any abnormalities. As the commenter said above me, it is still important to remember that damaged frontal eye fields do not necessarily confer schizophrenia. Still, it is an interesting discovery and I am sure that it will assist both neurologists and psychologists in making more accurate diagnosis.
ReplyDelete