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Blink rates and disorders of movement

From the Adult Psychiatry Branch, Division of Special Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC.

Blink rate, a putative noninvasive marker of central dopamine activity, was assessed in medication-free patients with Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Huntington's disease, and dystonia. The normal control rate of 24 blinks per minute was significantly higher than the rate of 12 and 4 blinks per minute recorded for patients with Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, respectively. The rates for patients with Huntington's disease and dystonia did not differ significantly from those of controls (36 and 26 blinks per minute, respectively).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Karson, Adult Psychiatry Branch, Division of Special Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC 20032.

Accepted for publication September 19, 1983.

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