Motor and sensory characteristics of infantile nystagmus

There are strong ocular motor and sensory patterns and associations that can help define an infantile nystagmus. These include the nystagmus being bilateral, conjugate, horizontal uniplanar, and having an accelerating slow phase (that is, CN). Decelerating slow phases (that is, MLN) are frequently associated with strabismus and early form deprivation. Waveform shape (CN or MLN) is not pathognomonic of any of the three subject groups (idiopaths, albinos, or ocular anomalies). There is no one single stand alone ocular motor characteristic that can differentiate a benign form of infantile nystagmus (CN, MLN) from a neurological one. Rather, the clinician must consider a host of clinical features.