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Clinical Nystagmus: Assessment & Care
A neuroanatomically grounded framework for classifying, localizing, and treating every major nystagmus type
Decode every nystagmus pattern with confidence. A 10-credit CE course in functional neurology built for clinicians who demand diagnostic precision.
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Course Description
Nystagmus presents in nearly every clinical setting involving the vestibular, cerebellar, or ocular motor systems, yet its interpretation remains one of the most underserved skills in post-graduate clinical training. Clinicians encounter positional vertigo, acute vestibular syndromes, and complex central presentations daily, and the difference between a missed stroke and a confident diagnosis often depends on knowing exactly what the eyes are telling you.
This 10-credit functional neurology course with Dr. David Traster DC DACNB delivers a clinically structured, neuroanatomically grounded framework for understanding every major nystagmus type. From peripheral vestibular origins to brainstem and cerebellar localization, from congenital forms to drug-induced patterns, from oscillopsia assessment to pharmacological and rehabilitative treatment options, clinicians leave with a systematic approach they can apply immediately at the bedside and in daily practice.
What you’ll learn:
- Classify nystagmus by slow-phase waveform to localize the responsible neural system
- Distinguish peripheral from central vestibular nystagmus using bedside examination
- Apply the HINTS protocol to identify stroke in acute vestibular presentations
- Evaluate positional and gaze-evoked nystagmus patterns with anatomic precision
- Select evidence-based pharmacological treatments for acquired nystagmus types
More About This Course
Nystagmus is one of the most diagnostically powerful findings in clinical neuroscience, and one of the most consistently underutilized. The involuntary, rhythmic oscillation of the eyes that defines nystagmus is not a diagnosis in itself; it is a neurological signature that points directly to disrupted function within the vestibular, cerebellar, brainstem, or ocular motor systems. For licensed clinicians working with patients who present with dizziness, vertigo, oscillopsia, gaze instability, or unexplained visual symptoms, the ability to read that signature with precision is among the most consequential clinical skills available. This course delivers exactly that capability, with the neuroanatomic depth and clinical structure that complex caseloads demand.
This 10-credit functional neurology CE course, led by Dr. David Traster DC DACNB, translates the current science of nystagmus into a systematic clinical framework that moves from foundational gaze physiology through lesion localization, positional assessment, complex pattern recognition, bedside examination protocols, and evidence-based treatment. Key topics include peripheral versus central nystagmus differentiation, vertical nystagmus and brainstem localization, the HINTS bedside exam for stroke identification, positional nystagmus including BPPV and the light cupula phenomenon, gaze-evoked and rebound nystagmus, seesaw and periodic alternating patterns, and the pharmacological and rehabilitative approaches supported by current clinical trials. Clinicians develop the ability to analyze slow-phase waveforms, apply Alexander's law, interpret fixation suppression, and build a structured nystagmus examination from first principles.
This course is designed for licensed healthcare clinicians seeking advanced post-graduate training in functional neurology. It is particularly well suited for chiropractors, chiropractic neurologists, physical therapists, and other clinicians who regularly evaluate vestibular and neuro-otological presentations and want to engage those cases with greater diagnostic confidence and clinical specificity.
Dr. David Traster holds a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, a Master of Science, and is a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board (DACNB). He is a respected educator in functional neurology with deep expertise in ocular motor assessment, vestibular neuroscience, and the clinical neuroscience of movement disorders. His teaching integrates current peer-reviewed research with the practical demands of clinical practice, giving clinicians tools they can use immediately with the patients they see every day.
Components
Educational Syllabus
- The Architecture of Gaze Stability
- Understand the three integrated systems that prevent nystagmus in a healthy nervous system. Master how the visual, gaze-holding, and vestibular systems coordinate to maintain foveal fixation, and what happens when that architecture fails.
- Reading the Slow Phase: Your Window to the Lesion
- The slow phase, not the fast phase, reveals the pathology. Learn to identify constant-velocity, decreasing-velocity, increasing-velocity, and pendular waveforms, and translate each pattern directly into lesion localization.
- Peripheral vs Central Nystagmus: Making the Call
- Master the defining features that separate peripheral vestibular nystagmus from central causes. Explore Alexander's law, fixation suppression, direction-changing patterns, and the clinical weight of each finding in real-world presentations.
- Vertical Nystagmus and Brainstem Localization
- Downbeat and upbeat nystagmus carry strong localizing value. Learn the neuroanatomy of the ventral tegmental tract, superior vestibular nucleus, and cerebellar flocculus, and connect each to the vertical nystagmus patterns they generate.
- Positional Nystagmus: BPPV, Central Mimics, and the Light Cupula
- Navigate the full spectrum of positional nystagmus, from classic posterior canal BPPV to central positional nystagmus and the light cupula phenomenon. Develop criteria to distinguish peripheral from central causes when presentations overlap.
- Complex Nystagmus Patterns in Clinical Practice
- Examine seesaw, periodic alternating, dissociated, torsional, and convergence-evoked nystagmus. Understand the neuroanatomic substrates of each and develop a structured approach to rare but diagnostically significant patterns.
- The Bedside Exam: HINTS, VOR Testing, and Provocative Maneuvers
- Build a structured bedside nystagmus examination. Apply the HINTS protocol, dynamic visual acuity testing, the head impulse test, skew deviation assessment, and provocative maneuvers including head-shaking and Dix-Hallpike.
- Treatment Strategies for Acquired and Congenital Nystagmus
- Translate clinical diagnosis into action. Review pharmacological agents including 4-aminopyridine, gabapentin, memantine, and baclofen alongside optical, surgical, and rehabilitative approaches for both acquired and congenital nystagmus
Venue, Hotels & Schedule
Also includes
Clinical Nystagmus: Assessment & Care
Decode every nystagmus pattern with confidence. A 10-credit CE course in functional neurology built for clinicians who demand diagnostic precision.
$
$
(
$
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