Oscillopsia is characterized by the sensation of which of the following?

• A. Vertigo
• B. Nystagmus
• C. Diplopia
• D. Oscillopsia

Answer: (D)

Oscillopsia is the perception that the visual environment moves or bounces with head movement because the reflex that stabilizes images on the retina is impaired. Normally, as you move your head, the vestibulo-ocular reflex moves the eyes in the opposite direction to keep the scene steady. When that stabilization fails (as in bilateral vestibular loss or certain cerebellar disorders), the world slides across the retina, and you feel the surroundings oscillating.

This differs from vertigo, which is a spinning sensation either of the body or of the surrounding environment, not specifically of the visual scene. Nystagmus is an involuntary eye movement you might observe clinically, not the subjective sense of the environment moving. Diplopia is double vision from misalignment or binocular fusion problems. So the characteristic experience in oscillopsia is the moving or jumping visual scene during head movement.