Oculomotor examination
Oculomotor examination at Amsterdam Brain Center
Research into the relationship between your symptoms and eye movements.
Oculomotor examination
Oculomotor examination at Amsterdam Brain Center
Research into the relationship between your symptoms and eye movements.
Amsterdam Brain Center
Why do we perform the oculomotor examination?
The oculomotor examination is used when the Functional Neurological Examination (FNO) shows that your eye movements are abnormal. This may mean that the eyes are sending incorrect information to the brain or that the eyes are not being controlled properly.
The eyes are an important source of information for the brain. If the information from the eyes is incomplete or distorted, the brain has to work extra hard to process it. When the eyes themselves have to correct a lot, this can also have consequences.
This extra effort by the brain and/or eyes can cause fatigue, balance problems, headaches, or even impaired brain function. With the oculomotor examination, we map out the cooperation between the eyes and the brain.
With this information, we can then assess the severity of your abnormality/impaired functions and select the most appropriate therapy to treat it.
“The oculomotor examination is a quantitative test of impaired coordination between the eyes, the vestibular system, and the brain.”
Amsterdam Brain Center
Amsterdam Brain Center
What can you expect from the oculomotor examination?
The oculomotor examination consists of a series of tests for the eyes and the vestibular system. These tests are performed using sensitive equipment such as the VNG, vHIT, and rotation chair. This equipment can be used to elicit and record complex eye movements while also stimulating the vestibular system.
You make various eye movements with your head in different positions, so that your vestibular system transmits different information each time. We test various movements such as smooth pursuits, optokinetic saccades (also anti-saccades), eye fixations, retinal slips, and more.
“After the oculomotor examination, we can assess the severity of your abnormal brain functions and select the appropriate treatment options.”
Amsterdam Brain Center
What can you expect after the oculomotor examination?
The oculomotor examination helps us assess how significant the role of your vision (eyes) is in relation to your symptoms.
The examination also provides us with important insights into how your brain processes information. This is a quantitative assessment, which gives an indication of the severity of the disorder and the likelihood of a successful treatment program.
After the oculomotor examination, we can assess which therapy is most appropriate for you and what effect we can expect to achieve on average in such a situation.
This is not a guaranteed outcome, but an estimate based on hundreds of previous treatments.
We can imagine that you may still have questions after viewing the website.
For more information, please call our practice. One of our assistants will answer your call.