Differential effects of age-related macular degeneration on retinal and cortical responses A Herbik, J Reupsch, M B Hoffmann |
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Ophthalmic Department, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany
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| Objective: To assess the relationship of retinal and cortical responses in age related macular degeneration (AMD), we determined the dependence of multifocal electroretinograms (mfERGS) and multifocal visual evoked potentials (mfVEPs) on visual acuity. Methods: Using VERIS Science 5.01.12X (EDI, CA, USA) separate monocular pattern-reversal mfVEP (46 deg diameter; 60 visual field patches in 5 eccentricity ranges) and flash mfERG (49 deg diameter; 103 visual field patches in 7 eccentricity ranges) recordings were obtained from 17 participants with AMD. Average mfERG amplitudes (P1-peak) and mfVEP-signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs) were calculated for each eccentricity and correlated with logarithmised visual acuity. Results: Visual acuities ranged between 0.06 and 1.00 (median 0.63). While mfVEP-SNRs correlated with visual acuities for two most central eccentricities 0.6 deg (r = 0.65, p = 0.025) and 2 deg (r = 0.71, p = 0.006), but not the more peripheral 3 eccentricities. No correlations with visual acuity were observed for mfERG amplitudes. Conclusions: A differential effect of AMD on retinal and cortical responses was observed. Although mfERGs measure the responses directly at the site damaged in AMD, ie. the retina, cortical responses were more closely related to the variation of functional deficits associated with AMD. |
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