Walsh & Hoyt: Centripetal and Rebound Nystagmus

If a patient with gaze-evoked nystagmus attempts to look eccentrically for a sustained period, the nystagmus may begin to decrease in amplitude and may even reverse direction, so that the eye begins to drift centrifugally (""centripetal nystagmus""). If the eyes are then returned to the central position, a short-lived nystagmus with slow drifts in the direction of the prior eccentric gaze occurs. This is called rebound nystagmus. Both centripetal and rebound nystagmus may reflect an attempt by brainstem or cerebellar mechanisms to correct for the centripetal drift of gaze-evoked nystagmus.