Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence that deficits in flicker sensitivity are an early symptom of glaucoma. For example, Tyler¹ found a large subset of patients who showed deficits principally at middle temporal frequencies. An interesting clinical implication of this finding was that screening techniques measuring either CFF or sensitivity to low frequencies might miss glaucomatous defects in many individuals. We have collected data that are consistent with Tyler’s finding using multiflash campimetry, a computer implemented technique that allows temporal resolving power to be quantified by determining the duty cycle required to detect flicker. In this study, the ability to detect flicker at 5 and 15 Hz was compared in 20 retinal locations within the central 5°. Although all observers showed greater temporal resolving power at 5 Hz, compared with 15 Hz, performance differences were exacerbated for glaucoma suspects and even more so for glaucoma patients. One way of accounting for these and Tyler's results is to assume that flicker techniques are primarily sensitive to activity in nerve fibers possessing bandpass temporal characteristics with large bandwidths.

© 1987 Optical Society of America