What are gaze palsies?

In conjugate gaze palsies, the two eyes cannot move in one direction (side to side, up, or down) at the same time. (See also Overview of the Cranial Nerves.) Palsy refers to paralysis, which can range from partial to complete. Conjugate gaze palsies affect horizontal gaze (looking to the side) most often.

What causes conjugate gaze palsies?

Common causes include strokes for horizontal gaze palsies, midbrain lesions (usually infarcts and tumors) for vertical gaze palsies, and progressive supranuclear palsy for downward gaze palsies. Treat the underlying disorder.

What does conjugate deviation of eyes mean?

n. The turning of eyes in parallel and at the same time, as occurs normally. A pathological condition in which both eyes are turned to the same side as a result of either paralysis or muscular spasms.

What is right lateral gaze?

Definition. Looking to the right or to the left in the horizontal plane. Gaze is defined as a combined eye-head movement, i.e., eye-in-space, but is also used loosely to designate an eye movement per se.

How do you test for conjugate gaze?

Diagnosis. A patient may be diagnosed with a conjugate gaze palsy by a physician performing a number of tests to examine the patient’s eye movement abilities. In most cases, the gaze palsy can simply be seen by inability to move both eyes in one direction.

What does gaze preference mean?

Definition. An abnormality of gaze that can be observed following an acute supranuclear cerebral lesion (e.g., stroke) that is characterized by an acute inability to direct gaze contralateral to the side of the lesion and is accompanied by a tendency for tonic deviation of the eyes toward the side of the lesion. [

What causes eyes to deviate?

The causes of eye misalignment are various, and sometimes unknown. Potential causes include high farsightedness, thyroid eye disease, cataract, eye injuries, myasthenia gravis, cranial nerve palsies, and in some patients it may be caused by brain or birth problems.

What causes lateral gaze?

Lateral gaze palsy is caused by a pathologic lesion involving the PPRF or the abducens nucleus (Figs 7, 8) (31). Internuclear ophthalmoplegia is induced by a lesion involving the MLF in the brainstem; the most common cause is a pontine infarction (Fig 10).

What is gaze preference?

What is the basis of conjugate gaze?

How does conjugate gaze palsy affect vertical gaze?

One-and-a-Half syndrome is normally associated with horizontal gaze. Although more rare than horizontal, one-and-a-half syndrome from damage to the paramedian pontine reticular formation and the medial longitudinal fasciculus can be shown to affect vertical gaze. This can cause impairment of vertical gaze, allowing only one eye to move vertically.

How are conjugate gaze and smooth pursuit related?

Since conjugate gaze limitations and smooth pursuit and saccadic abnormalities are related, they are discussed within the Horizontal Conjugate Gaze Deficits and Vertical Gaze Limitations sections. When supranuclear gaze defects in all directions are present, the cause is often a degenerative neurologic disorder.

What are the different types of conjugate gaze disorders?

In neuro-ophthalmic terminology, these include horizontal and vertical conjugate gaze limitations, voluntary smooth pursuit and saccadic deficits, and involuntary conjugate gaze deviations. These conditions tend to result from impaired supranuclear input upon the ocular motor nuclei.

Where does conjugate horizontal eye movement take place?

Therefore, conjugate horizontal eye movements are conducted by the oculomotor nerve (cranial nerve III) and the abducens nerve (cranial nerve VI). The following paragraphs provide a closer look at the oculomotor and the abducens nuclei and their nerves.