Gaze

Gaze refers to the act of looking steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought. In the context of medicine and psychology, gaze is a technical term denoting the act of looking at a specific point. It is a significant concept in fields such as neurology, ophthalmology, and psychiatry.

Definition

The gaze is not just a fixed stare, but it can be a meeting of the eyes or a fast glance. It can also be defined as "the act of looking and the act of seeing." In medicine, the gaze is often used to refer to a patient's eye movement and is used as a diagnostic tool in various medical disciplines.

Medical Significance

In the field of neurology, abnormal gaze can be a symptom of a neurological disorder. For example, a gaze palsy is a type of eye movement disorder where a person cannot move their eyes to one side. This can be caused by a lesion in the brainstem or the cranial nerves that control eye movement.

In ophthalmology, the direction of gaze can be significant in diagnosing conditions such as strabismus, where the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object.

In psychiatry, the gaze can be significant in diagnosing conditions such as autism, where individuals may avoid eye contact, or schizophrenia, where individuals may have a fixed or glazed stare.

Related Terms

• Gaze palsy: A type of eye movement disorder where a person cannot move their eyes to one side.
• Gaze-evoked nystagmus: A type of involuntary eye movement that occurs when a person tries to maintain a far lateral or upward gaze.
• Smooth pursuit: A type of eye movement where the eyes smoothly follow a moving object.
• Saccade: A quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes between two or more phases of fixation in the same direction.

See Also

• Eye movement
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology
• Psychiatry

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