Badham, Stephen P, Hutchinson, Claire V · Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2013 · DOI
Many people with ME/CFS report that their eyes feel slow and they struggle to follow moving objects. This was the first study to objectively test these complaints using eye-tracking equipment. Researchers compared eye movements in people with ME/CFS to healthy controls and found that while simple eye movements were similar between groups, people with ME/CFS had significant difficulty smoothly tracking a moving target—a task that requires sustained eye control.
This pioneering study provides the first objective, laboratory-based evidence validating patients' long-reported visual tracking difficulties, moving beyond subjective complaint to measurable dysfunction. Identifying oculomotor biomarkers could potentially improve diagnostic accuracy and help clinicians better understand the neurobiological basis of ME/CFS. These findings open new avenues for using eye-tracking as a potential objective diagnostic tool for ME/CFS.
This study does not establish whether smooth pursuit dysfunction is specific to ME/CFS or whether it occurs across all ME/CFS severities. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether eye movement dysfunction causes other ME/CFS symptoms or vice versa. The findings do not clarify the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for the observed oculomotor impairment.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Badham, Stephen P & Hutchinson, Claire V (2013). Characterising eye movement dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-013-2431-3
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-badham-2013-characterising-eye,
author = {Badham, Stephen P and Hutchinson, Claire V},
title = {Characterising eye movement dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1007/s00417-013-2431-3},
note = {PubMed: 23918092},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/badham-2013-characterising-eye},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/badham-2013-characterising-eye
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