Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) was studied in patients with central visual field defects. Apart from a classic OKN, an inverted nystagmus was observed in some cases. A prerequisite for eliciting this paradoxic OKN was that the attention of the subject was directed to the field defect. Although other factors seem to be co-determining, a central mechanism is thought to process the visual information according to spatial-selective attention.