Oculomotor disturbances in patients with tension headache.

Forty-seven female patients with tension headache were studied with oculomotor tests. The test results were compared with those of a control group consisting of 38 healthy women. The peak velocity of the saccades was lower in the patient group than in the control group (p greater than 0.01). There were no differences between the patient group and the control group regarding accuracy and latency of the saccades. The velocity gain values of the smooth pursuit eye movements were lower in the patient group than in the control group (p greater than 0.01). The differences in both the number and the amplitude of the corrective saccades between the two groups were significant (p greater than 0.01). The number of square waves superimposed on the smooth pursuits was the same in both groups.