Square Wave Jerks in Children and Adolescents

Square wave jerks are involuntary, horizontal, saccadic intrusions that interrupt fixation. Each square wave jerk consists of an initial saccade that moves the fovea away from the intended position of fixation, followed by a second saccade in the opposite direction, which refoveates the fixation position. Square wave jerks reportedly occur in 24-60% of healthy adults. No previous study of square wave jerks in children and adolescents is available. We recorded eye movements using an infrared eye tracker in 38 participants aged 8-19 years while they fixated on a visual target for 1 minute. The frequency of square wave jerks, and the durations, amplitudes, and peak velocities of their saccades, were calculated and correlated with age. Ninety percent of participants had square wave jerks. Their median frequency was 3 per minute (range, 1-18), median duration was 249 milliseconds, the median amplitude of their saccades was 0.81 degrees, and the median peak velocity was 60 degrees/second. No parameter of square wave jerks correlated with age. The prevalence of square wave jerks is high in children and adolescents. This finding may be a feature of the less mature brain, and may reflect an inability to suppress unwanted supranuclear triggers for saccades.