The 47 Types & 38 Causes of Nystagmus; (It’s Not Just Caused by Alcohol)
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is an eye test approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(hereinafter NHTSA) as a tool to detect clues of impairment in drivers. The HGNtest is one of three psychomotor tests approved as part of the standardized field sobriety testing protocol employed by law enforcement officers throughout the United States and used here in Ohio. The HGN is a test of your eyes wherein the testing officer is looking for abnormal movements call saccades. These movements make the eye appear to bounce or wobble. The officer uses this movement to make a correlation to alcohol use. This would valid only if we are able to demonstrate that nystagmus is specific to alcohol impairment. However, we know that there are other causes of nystagmus. It is up to your DUI lawyer to demonstrate another valid reason for what the officer is observing. You can find information about the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test and its biases on this site.
Listed beloware some other scientifically recognized causes of nystagmus.
47 Types of Nystagmus
1. Acquired
2. Anticipatory(Induced)
3. Arthrokinetic(Induced,Somatosensory)
4. Associated(Induced,Stransky’s
5. AudioKinetic(Induced)
6. Bartel’s(Induced)
7. Brun’s
8. Centripetal
9. Cervical(NeckTorsion,Vestibular-0basilarArteryInsufficiency
10.Crcular/Elliptic/Oblique (Alternataing Windmill, Circumduction, Diagonal,
Elliptic, Gyratory, Oblique, Radiary)
11.Congenital (Fixation, Hereditary)
12.Convergence
13.Convergence Invocked
14.Disaccociated, Disjunctive
15.Downbeat
16.Drug Induced (Barbiturate, Bow Tie, Induced)
17.Epileptic (Ictal
18.Flash Induced
19.Gaze-Evoked (Deviational, Gaze-Paretic, Neurasthenic, Seducible, Setting-In)
20.Horizontal
21.Induced (Provoked)
22.Intermittent Vertical
23.Jerk
24.Latent/Manifest Latent (Monocular Fixation, Unimacular)
25.Lateral Medullary
26.Lid
27.Miner’s (Occupational)
28.Muscle Paretic (Myasthenic)
29.Optokinetic (Induced, Optomotor, Panoramic, Railway, Sigma)
30.Optokinetic After-Induced (Post-Optokinetic, Reverse Post-Optokinetic)
31.Pendular (Talantropia)
32.Periodic/Aperiodic Alternating
33.Physiologic (End-Point, Fatigue)
34.Pursuit After Induced
35.Pursuit Defect
36.Pseudo Spontaneous
37.Rebound
38.Reflex (Baer’s)
39.See-Saw
40.Somatosensory
41.Spontaneous
42.Stepping Around
43.Torsional
44.Uniocular
45.Upbeat
46.Vertical
47.Vestibular (Agotropic, Geotro-Pic, Bechterew’s, Caloric, Compensatory,Electrical/Faradic/Gal Vanic, Labyrinthine, Pneumatic/Compression, Positional/Alcohol, Pseudo Caloric)
Obtained from Dr. L. F. Dell’Osso, Nystagmus, Saccadic Intrusions/Oscillations and Oscillopsia, 3 Current Neuro-Opthamology 147 (1989). There are also 38 verified causes for a horizontal gaze nystagmus other than alcohol impairment.
38 Causes of Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
1. ProblemsWithTheInnerEarLabyrinth
2. Irrigating The Ears With Warm Or Cold Water Under Peculiar Weather
Conditions
3. Influenza
4. StreptococcusInfection
5. Vertigo
6. Measles
7. Syphilis
8. Arteriosclerosis
9. MuscularDystrophy
10.Multiple Sclerosis
11.Korchaff’s Syndrome
12.Brain Hemorrhage
13.Epilepsy
14.Hypertension
15.Motion Sickness
16.Sunstroke
17.Eyestrain
18.Eye Muscle Fatigue
19.Glaucoma
20.Changes In Atmospheric Pressure
21.Consumption Of Excessive Amounts Of Caffeine
22.Excessive Exposure To Nicotine
23.Aspirin
24.Circadian Rhythms
25.Acute Trauma To The Head
26.Chronic Trauma To The Head
27.Some Prescription Drugs, Tranquilizers, Pain Medications, Anti-Convulsants
28.Barbiturates
29.Disorders Of The Vestibular Apparatus And Brain Stem
30.Cerebellum Dysfunction
31.Heredity
32.Diet
33.Toxins
34.Exposure To Solvents, PCB’s, Dry-Cleaning Fumes, Carbon Monoxide
35.Extreme Chilling
36.Lesions
37.Continuous Movement Of The Visual Field Past The Eyes
38.Antihistamine Use
See Shultz v. State, 664 A.2d 60, 77 (Md. App. 1995) citing State v. Witte; State v. Clark, State v. Superior Court, and Mark A. Rouleau, Unreliability of the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test, 4 Am.Jur. Proof of Facts 3d 439 (1989); Louise J. Gordy & Roscoe N. Gray, 3A Attorney’s Textbook of Medicine § § 84.63 and 84.64 (1990).
DUI attorney Charles M. Rowland II dedicates his practice to defending the accused drunk driver in Fairborn, Dayton, Springfield, Kettering, Vandalia, Xenia, Miamisburg, Springboro, Huber Heights, Oakwood, Beavercreek, Centerville and throughout Ohio. He has the credentials and the experience to win your case and has made himself the Miami Valley’s choice for DUI defense. Contact Charles Rowland by phone at 937-318-1384.
“All I do is DUI.”
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