Abstract
Steady-state (8-Hz) pattern electroretinograms in response to counterphased sinusoidal gratings of variable spatial frequency (0.6-4.8 c/deg) were recorded in 17 patients who had had retrobulbar optic neuritis in one or both eyes (23 eyes with a clinical history of optic neuritis) and in 21 age-matched normal subjects. Amplitude and phase of the Fourier-analyzed pattern electroretinogram second harmonic were measured. The mean pattern electroretinogram amplitude of patients was significantly reduced compared with that of controls. Amplitude reductions were more marked at intermediate (1-1.4 c/deg) than at lower or higher spatial frequencies. Therefore, the average amplitude versus spatial frequency response function differed significantly in patients compared with controls, displaying a lowpass instead of a band-pass shape. No significant differences in the mean pattern electroretinogram phase were observed between groups at any spatial frequency. These results indicate spatial frequency-dependent abnormalities in the pattern electroretinogram amplitude after optic neuritis, suggesting a specific loss of retinal neurons sensitive to stimuli of intermediate spatial frequencies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 325-336 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Documenta Ophthalmologica |
Volume | 79 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1992 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Optic neuritis
- pattern electroretinogram
- sinusoidal gratings
- spatial frequency
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology