Abstract

Sensitive measurement of optic nerve dysfunction can be of importance in the medical management of pituitary adenoma's and glaucoma and in the diagnosis of optic neuritis in patients with possible multiple sclerosis. Perimetry and pattern visual evoked potentials (PVEP) are standard clinical procedures for the assessment of afferent visual function. A unilateral delay in the PVEP provides a sensitive measure of optic nerve demyelination and is quite useful in the detection of clinically silent optic neuritis. However, the test is of limited value in monitoring progression of glaucoma and chiasmal compression because it does not allow for testing of individual points in the visual field. Perimetry provides a measurement of visual threshold for specific points in the visual field and is the standard test for following chiasmal compression and glaucoma, However, recent anatomic evidence has shown that changes in visual threshold may not occur until fairly extensive damage has occurred (Quigley et. al. 1982). We have used latency to initiate a saccadic eye movement to a visual target as a measure of optic nerve dysfunction with the notion that compression of optic nerve fibers will result in conduction delays that preceed changes in visual sensitivity. Preliminary data will be presented here which suggest that saccadic latency is a sensitive measure of afferent conduction.

© 1986 Optical Society of America