Disorders of head and eye movements in children.

Disturbances of the normal relationship of head and eye movements occur in several pathological conditions, including disorders of rapid eye movements and various forms of congenital nystagmus. In disorders of rapid eye movements the abnormal head movements may be a learned response using various techniques to improve eye velocity and amplitude. In congenital nystagmus with head shaking, the head movements may be compensatory, of common genesis, or suppressive. The vestibulo-ocular reflex may be manipulated in certain circumstances to achieve eye stability or to increase eye movement velocity. In certain head tremors the eye movements observed may be normal vestibulo-ocular compensatory movements.