Advertisement
Research Article| Volume 20, ISSUE 11, P1197-1210, November 1985

High thresholds for movement perception in schizophrenia may indicate abnormal extraneous noise levels of central vestibular activity

      This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.

      Abstract

      A theoretical argument proposes that thresholds for visual perception of movement should be abnormally high in schizophrenia. This may reflect a central vestibular dysfunction, consisting of abnormally high levels of extraneous noise within the neural activity of the central vestibulo-cerebellar complex. Two experiments are reported with results that support the hypothesis. To some extent, the disorder may explain the smooth pursuit eye movement dysfunction in schizophrenia. Relations to the dopamine hypothesis in schizophrenia are discussed.
      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Biological Psychiatry
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

        • Baker R.
        Role of the prepositus nucleus in efference copy.
        Neurosciences. 1982; 7: S15
        • Baribeau-Braun J.
        • Picton T.W.
        • Gosselin J.Y.
        Schizophrenia: A neurophysiological evaluation of abnormal information processing.
        Science. 1983; 219: 874-876
        • Barmack N.H.
        • Pettorossi V.E.
        Influence of GABA agonist, Diazepam, on the vestibulo-ocular reflexes of the rabbit.
        Brain Res. Bull. 1980; 5: 705-712
        • Berthoz A.
        • Yoshida K.
        • Vidal P.P.
        Horizontal eye movement signals in second-order vestibular nuclei neurons in the cat.
        Ann NY Acad Sci. 1981; 374: 144-156
        • Buckley R.E.
        Vestibulo-cerebellar dysfunction in schizophrenics with perceptual disorders.
        J Orthomolec Psychiatry. 1981; 10: 22-28
        • Büttner U.W.
        • Büttner U.
        Vestibular nuclei activity in the alert monkey during suppression of vestibular and optokinetic nystagmus.
        Exp Brain Res. 1979; 37: 581-593
        • Cegalis J.A.
        • Sweeney J.A.
        The effect of attention on smooth pursuit eye movements of schizophrenics.
        J Psychiat Res. 1981; 16: 145-161
        • Chez C.
        • Fahn S.
        The cerebellum.
        in: Kandel E.R. Schwartz J.H. Principles of Neurosciences. Edward Arnold, London1981
        • Coffman I.A.
        • Mefferd J.
        • Golden C.J.
        • Bloch S.
        • Graber B.
        Cerebellar atrophy in chronic schizophrenia.
        Lancet. 1981; i: 666
      1. Cohen B. Vestibular and Oculomotor Physiology. Ann NY Acad Sci. vol 374. 1981
        • Dewan M.J.
        • Pandurangi A.K.
        • Lee S.H.
        • Ramachandran T.
        • Levy B.F.
        • Boucher M.
        • Yozawitz A.
        • Major L.
        Cerebellar morphology in chronic schizophrenic patients: A controlled computed tomography study.
        Psychiatr Res. 1983; 10: 97-103
        • Dichgans J.
        • Brandt T.
        Visual-vestibular interaction: Effects on self-motion perception and postural control.
        in: Handbook of Sensory Physiology, vol. VIII: Perception. Springer, Berlin1978: 755-804
        • Fuchs A.F.
        • Kim J.
        Unit activity in vestibular nucleus of the alert monkey during horizontal angular acceleration and eye movement.
        J Neurophysiol. 1975; 38: 1140-1161
        • Glowinski J.
        • Nieoullon A.
        • Chéramy A.
        Regulations of the activity of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways by cortical, cerebellar and sensory neuronal afferences.
        Adv Biochem Psychopharmacol. 1978; 19: 75-87
      2. Granit R. Pompeano O. Reflex control of posture and movement. Prog Brain Res. 50. 1979
        • Heath R.G.
        • Franklin D.E.
        • Shraberg D.
        Gross pathology of the cerebellum in patients diagnosed and treated as functional psychiatric disorders.
        J Nerv Ment Dis. 1979; 167: 585-592
        • Henn V.
        • Cohen B.
        • Young L.R.
        Visual-vestibular interaction in motion perception and the generation of nystagmus.
        Neurosci Res Prog Bull. 1980; 18
        • Holst E.von
        Relation between the central nervous system and peripheral organs.
        Br J Animal Behav. 1954; 2: 89-94
        • Holtzman P.S.
        Methodological consensus in smooth pursuit eye movements: Workshop contributions. Schizophr Bull. 9. 1983: 33-36
        • Horn K.M.
        • Miller S.W.
        • Neilson H.C.
        Visual modulation of neuronal activity within the rat vestibular nuclei.
        Exp Brain Res. 1983; 52: 311-313
        • Ito M.
        Cerebellar control of the vestibulo-ocular reflex—Around the flocculus hypothesis.
        Ann Rev Neurosci. 1982; 5: 275-296
        • Ito M.
        • Kawai N.
        • Udo M.
        The origin of cerebellar-induced inhibition of Deiters neurones III. Localization of the inhibitory zone.
        Exp Brain Res. 1968; 4: 310-320
        • Ito M.
        • Kawai N.
        • Udo M.
        • Sato N.
        Cerebellar evoked disinhibition in dorsal Deiters neurones.
        Exp Brain Res. 1968; 6: 247-264
        • Koller W.C.
        Cerebellar atrophy and schizophrenia.
        Am J Psychiatry. 1982; 139: 846-847
        • Latham C.
        • Holzman P.S.
        • Manschrek R.
        • Tole J.
        Optokinetic nystagmus and pursuit eye movements in schizophrenia.
        Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981; 38: 997-1003
      3. Lennerstrand G. Zee D.S. Keller E.L. Functional Basis of Ocular Motility Disorders. Pergamon, New York1982
        • Leigh R.J.
        • Zee D.S.
        The Neurology of Eye Movement.
        Davis Comp, Philadelphia1983
        • Levin S.
        Smooth pursuit impairment in schizophrenia—What does it mean.
        Schizophr Bull. 1983; 9: 37-44
        • Levin S.
        • Jones A.
        • Stark L.
        • Merrin E.L.
        • Holzman P.S.
        Identification of abnormal patterns in eye-movements in schizophrenic patients.
        Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982; 39: 1125-1130
        • Levy D.L.
        • Proctor L.R.
        • Holzman P.S.
        Peripheral vestibular pathology in schizophrenic infants.
        Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1973; 36: 1462-1464
        • Levy D.L.
        • Holzman P.S.
        • Proctor L.R.
        Vestibular responses in schizophrenia.
        Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1978; 35: 972-981
        • Levy D.L.
        • Holzman P.S.
        • Proctor L.R.
        Vestibular dysfunction and psychopathology.
        Schizophr Bull. 1983; 9: 383-438
        • Lippmann S.
        • Manshadi M.
        • Baldwin H.
        • Drasin G.
        • Rice J.
        • Alrajeh S.
        Cerebellar vermis dimensions on computerised tomographic scans of schizophrenic and bipolar patients.
        Am J Psychiatry. 1982; 139: 667-668
        • Lipton R.B.
        • Levy D.L.
        • Holzman P.S.
        • Levin S.
        Eye movement dysfunctions in psychiatric patients: A review.
        Schizophr Bull. 1983; 9: 13-32
        • Lisberger S.G.
        • Fuchs A.F.
        Role of primate flocculus during rapid behavioral modification of vestibulo-ocular reflex I. Purkinje cell activity during visually guided horizontal smooth pursuit eye movements and passive head rotation.
        J Neurophysiol. 1978; 41: 733-763
        • Lisberger S.G.
        • Fuchs A.F.
        Role of primate flocculus during rapid behavioral modification of vestibulo-ocular reflex II. Mossy fiber firing patterns during horizontal head rotation and eye movement.
        J Neurophysiol. 1978; 41: 764-777
        • Lopez-Barneo J.
        • Darlot C.
        • Berthoz A.
        • Baker R.
        Neuronal activity in the prepositus nucleus correlated with eye movement in the alert cat.
        J Neurophysiol. 1982; 47: 329-352
        • Luchins D.J.
        • Morihisa J.M.
        • Weinberger D.R.
        • Wyatt R.J.
        Cerebral assymetry and cerebellar atrophy in schizophrenia: A controlled postmortem study.
        Am J Psychiatry. 1981; 138: 1501-1503
        • Mack A.
        • Fendrich R.
        • Wong E.
        Is perceived motion a stimulus for smooth pursuit?.
        Vision Res. 1982; 22: 77-88
        • MacKay D.M.
        Perceptual stability of a stroboscopically lit visual field containing self-luminous objects.
        Nature. 1958; 181: 507-508
        • MacKay D.M.
        Visual stability and voluntary eye movements.
        in: Handbook of Sensory Physiology. VII/3A. Springer, Berlin1973: 307-331
        • McCrea R.A.
        • Yoshida K.
        • Evinger C.
        • Berthoz A.
        The location, axonal aborization and termination sites of eye-movement related secondary vestibular neurons demonstrated by intra-axonal HRP injection in the alert cat.
        in: Progress in Oculomotor Research. Elsevier North-Holland, New York1981
        • Miles F.A.
        • Lisberger S.G.
        Plasticity in the vestibulo-ocular reflex: A new hypothesis.
        Ann Rev Neurosci. 1981; 4: 273-299
        • Miles F.A.
        • Braitman D.J.
        • Dow B.M.
        Long-term adaptive changes in primate vestibulo-ocular reflex IV. Electrophysiological observations in flocculus of adapted monkeys.
        J Neurophysiol. 1980; 43: 1477-1493
        • Nasrallah H.A.
        • Jacobi C.B.
        • MacCalley-Whitters
        Cerebellar atrophy in schizophrenia and mania.
        Lancet. 1981; i: 1102
        • Nieoullon A.
        • Chéramy A.
        • Glowinski J.
        Control of the activity of the two dopaminergic systems by cortical, Cerebellar and sensory afferents in the cat.
        Appl Neurophysiol. 1979; 42: 51-53
        • Ottenbacher K.J.
        Vestibular processing dysfunction in children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders: A review.
        Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 1982; 2: 3-12
        • Pettorossi V.E.
        • Troiani D.
        • Petrosini L.
        Diazepam enhances cerebellar inhibition on vestibular neurons.
        Acta Otolaryngol. 1982; 93: 363-373
        • Precht W.
        Physiological aspects of the efferent vestibular system.
        in: Handbook of Sensory Physiology VI/I, Vestibular System Part 1: Basic Mechanisms. Springer, Berlin1974: 221-236
        • Precht W.
        The physiology of the vestibular nuclei.
        in: Handbook of Sensory Physiology VI/I, Vestibular System Part 1: Basic Mechanisms. Springer, Berlin1974: 353-416
        • Reyes M.G.
        • Gordon A.
        Cerebellar vermis in schizophrenia.
        Lancet. 1981; ii: 700-701
        • Seidman L.J.
        Schizophrenia and brain dysfunction: An integration of recent neurodiagnostic findings.
        Psychol Bull. 1983; 94: 195-238
        • Shilder P.
        The vestibular apparatus in neurosis and psychosis.
        J Nerv Ment Dis. 1933; 78: 1-23
        • Shilder P.
        The vestibular apparatus in neurosis and psychosis.
        J Nerv Ment Dis. 1933; 78: 137-164
        • Shima F.
        • Hassler R.
        Circling behavior produced by unilateral lesions of the central vestibular system.
        Appl Neurophysiol. 1982; 45: 255-260
        • Snider R.S.
        • Snider S.R.
        Commentary: Cerebellar lesions and psychiatric disorders.
        J Nerv Ment Dis. 1979; 167: 758-759
        • Snider S.R.
        Cerebellar pathology in schizophrenia—Cause or consequences?.
        Neurosci Behav Rev. 1982; 6: 47-53
        • Sperry R.W.
        Neural basis of the spontaneous optokinetic response produced by visual inversion.
        J Comp Physiol Psycol. 1950; 43: 482-489
        • Stark L.
        Abnormal patterns of normal eye movements in schizophrenia.
        Schizophr Bull. 1983; 9: 55-72
        • Steinbach M.
        Pursuing the perceptual rather than the visual stimulus.
        Vision Res. 1976; 16: 1371-1376
        • Waespe W.
        • Henn V.
        The velocity response of vestibular nucleys neurons during vestibular visual and combined angular accelaration.
        Exp Brain Res. 1979; 37: 337-347
        • Waespe W.
        • Henn V.
        Motion information in the vestibular nuclei of alert monkeys: Visual and vestibular inputs. vs. optomotor output.
        Prog Brain Res. 1979; 50: 683-693
        • Wallach H.
        • Lewis C.
        The effect of abnormal displacement of the retinal image during eye movement.
        Percep Psychophys. 1965; 1: 25-29
        • Weinberger D.R.
        • Torrey E.F.
        • Wyatt R.J.
        Cerebellar atropy in chronic schizophrenia.
        Lancet. 1979; i: 718-719
        • Weinberger D.
        • Kleinman J.E.
        • Luchins D.J.
        • Bigelow L.B.
        • Wyatt R.J.
        Cerebellar pathology in schizophrenia: A controlled post-mortem study.
        Am J Psychiatry. 1980; 137: 359-361
        • Wertheim A.H.
        On the relativity of perceived motion.
        Acta Psychol. 1981; 48: 97-110
        • Wertheim A.H.
        • Bles W.
        A re-evaluation of cancellation theory: Visual, vestibular and oculomotor contributions to perceived object motion.
        in: Rep. IZF 1984–1988. Institute for Perception TNO, Soesterberg, The Netherlands1984
        • Yasui S.
        • Young L.R.
        Perceived visual motion as an effective stimulus to pursuit eye movement system.
        Science. 1975; 190: 906-908
        • Yoshida K.
        • Berthoz A.
        • Vidal P.P.
        • McCrea R.
        Eye movement related activity of identified second order vestibular neurons in the cat.
        in: Fuchs A.F. Becker W. Progress in Oculomotor Research. Elsevier North-Holland, New York1981
        • Young L.R.
        Pursuit eye movement—What is being pursued?.
        Dev Neurosci. 1977; 1: 29-36