Visual gaze preference

What it means

An abnormality of gaze that can be observed following an acute supranuclear cerebral lesion (e.g., stroke) that is characterized by an acute inability to direct gaze contralateral to the side of the lesion and is accompanied by a tendency for tonic deviation of the eyes toward the side of the lesion.

With visual gaze preference due to an acute supranuclear cerebral lesion, the oculocephalic reflex (which can be elicited by the so called Doll's head maneuver) is intact. The head is briskly turned from side to side with the head held briefly at the end of each turn. If the brainstem and infranuclear pathways are intact, then the eyes rotate to the opposite side to the direction of head rotation. Stroke is the most common etiology of this finding.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category