Smooth pursuit neck torsion test is associated with which type of impairments in whiplash patients?

• A. Emotional
• B. Cognitive
• C. Motor
• D. Sensory

Answer: (B)

Smooth pursuit neck torsion tests the brain’s ability to integrate multiple sensory inputs for visuomotor control. When you track a moving target with smooth pursuit, your system combines visual information, vestibular input, and cervical proprioception to predict and guide eye movements. If the neck is rotated, the proprioceptive input from the cervical region shifts, increasing the cognitive load required to coordinate these inputs and maintain steady pursuit.

In whiplash patients, cognitive impairments such as slowed processing, reduced attention, or difficulties with multisensory integration can blunt this visuomotor coordination. That means performance on the smooth pursuit task while the neck is torsioned is more likely to be affected when cognitive processes are involved, rather than when the issue is purely emotional, motor strength/coordination, or primary sensory perception alone. So the test is most closely linked to cognitive impairments because it hinges on higher-level processing and integration needed to maintain accurate eye movements under altered neck proprioceptive input.