Department of Physics - University of Évora

The Chaotic Oscillations of Infantile Congenital Nystagmus

Congenital nystagmus (CN) is an incurable pathological spontaneous oscillation of the eyes with an onset in the first few months of life. The pathophysiology of CN is mysterious. There is no consistent neurological abnormality, but the majority of patients have a wide range of unrelated congenital visual abnormalities affecting the cornea, lens, retina, or optic nerve. In this seminar it is argued that these eye oscillations could develop as an adaptive response to maximise visual contrast with poor foveal function in the infant visuomotor system, at a time of peak neural plasticity. This can explain why CN does not emerge later in life and why CN is so refractory to treatment. It also implies that any therapeutic intervention would need to be very early in life.