Should we match patients and controls for geographic origin in clinical research: environmental and/or genetic factors influence oculomotor behaviors

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Abstract Despite the importance of selecting appropriate control groups in clinical research, the impact of ethnical and environmental causes is rarely examined. Here we investigate eye movement performances in populations composed of healthy subjects with two different ethnic origins and living environments, 63 Czechs and 59 Caribbean subjects. Healthy subjects differed in their oculomotor behaviors. Compared to the Czechs, the Caribbean subjects had a slower maximum velocity of visually guided saccades, longer vertical saccade latencies, smaller downward vertical saccade gain, a higher frequency of square wave jerks and longer latencies, and higher error rates in the antisaccade task. Within the Caribbean group, high consumers of Annonaceae food products had shorter visually guided saccade latencies and lower vertical saccade velocities, characteristics observed in patients at early stages of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. In summary, differences in oculomotor behavior between groups of healthy subjects emphasize the need to carefully select control subjects in clinical research. A specific pattern of oculomotor behavior was observed in some of our Caribbean subjects that could correspond to a presymptomatic stage of atypical Parkinsonism induced by toxic environmental factors. Finally, this study emphasizes the critical role of selecting appropriate control groups in clinical research and questions the impact of ethnical and environmental factors.

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