Specific oculomotor deficits after amylobarbitone

Abstract

Five healthy volunteers received a single oral dose of amylobarbitone sodium (200 mg) and placebo in a double blind randomized fashion. Peak velocity of horizontal saccadic eye movements, saccade duration and smooth pursuit velocity were measured at intervals up to 6 h after drug administration. The active treatment produced a statistically significant decrease of both saccadic and smooth pursuit eye velocity. The maximum effect was observed 2 h after drug administration. The effect on peak saccadic velocity was still statistically significant 6 h after treatment. The maximum impairment in eye movement performance ranged between 25 and 29%. These results demonstrate that both saccadic and smooth pursuit systems are unable to generate the required eye velocity under the influence of a therapeutic dose of amylobarbitone sodium.