The neural systems that control eye movements and direct visual attention during waking are well established. In this project we will determine whether the same cortical areas are involved in eye movements in both REM sleep and wakefulness using functional MRI measurement of regional cerebral blood volume. We hypothesize that eye movements during REM sleep will be associated with increased rCBV in the nodal points of the neural circuit that controls eye movements in wakefulness. After completing studies in normal volunteers, the second part of the study is to determine if the eye movement control circuit works abnormally in schizophrenia, utilizing REM sleep as a natural brain activation study paradigm to test the integrity of the neural systems that control eye movements and attention.
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