Suppression of congenital nystagmus by cutaneous stimulation

Abstract

Based on the authors' finding that congenital nystagmus (CN) could be suppressed by contact lenses, they investigated the effects on the CN waveform of cutaneous stimulation of the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve. Significant (> 50%) damping of the CN was found for each of the following stimuli: touching the upper eyelid; rubbing the forehead lightly; pressing on the forehead; vibration on the forehead at both 30 and 110 Hz; and both supra- and subthreshold electrical stimuli to the forehead. These robust responses suggest that proprioception is important in both the suppression (and possibly generation) of CN and normal ocular motor control.