Comparison of the uniform-field electroretinogram and the pattern electroretinogram to checkerboard and bar gratings

Assessment of the uniform field electroretinogram for mouse retinal ganglion cell functional analysis

PURPOSE

The uniform field electroretinogram (UF-ERG) has been suggested as an alternative to the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) for non-invasive assessment of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) function in primates. We evaluated the validity of the UF-ERG to assess mouse RGC activity in vivo.

METHODS

Unilateral optic nerve crush (ONC) was performed on adult C57BL/6J mice. Contralateral eyes with uncrushed optic nerves and eyes from surgically naive mice served as experimental controls. Electrophysiological visual assessment was performed at 12 weeks post-ONC. Flash-mediated visual-evoked cortical potentials (VEPs) were measured to confirm the robustness of the ONC procedure. Full-field flash ERGs were used to interrogate photoreceptor and retinal bipolar cell function. RGC function was assessed with pattern ERGs. Summed onset and offset UF-ERG responses to alternating dark and light uniform field flash stimuli of different intensities and wavelengths were recorded from ONC and control eyes, and relative differences were compared to the PERG results. Following electrophysiological analysis, RGC loss was monitored by immunohistochemical staining of the RGC marker protein, RBPMS, in post-mortem retinal tissues.

RESULTS

ONC dramatically impacts RGC integrity and optic nerve function, demonstrated by reduced RGC counts and near complete elimination of VEPs. ONC did not affect scotopic ERG a-wave and b-wave amplitudes, while PERG amplitudes of eyes subjected to ONC were reduced by approximately 50% compared to controls. Summation of ON and OFF UF-ERG responses did not reveal statistically significant differences between ONC and control eyes, regardless of visual stimulus.

CONCLUSIONS

PERG responses are markedly impaired upon ONC, while UF-ERG responses are not significantly affected by surgical trauma to RGC axons in mice. The more closely related pattern and uniform field ERGs recorded in primates suggests species-specific differences in RGC features or subpopulations corresponding to PERG and UF-ERG response generators, limiting the utility of the UF-ERG for mouse RGC functional analysis.

Formation of the pediatric electroretinogram database parameters for the development of doctor’s decisionmaking algorithm

Electroretinography is a non-invasive electrophysiological method standardized by the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV). Electroretinography has been used for the clinical application and standardization of electrophysiological protocols for diagnosing the retina since 1989. Electroretinography become fundamental ophthalmological research method that may assesses the state of the retina. To transfer clinical practice to patients the establishment of standardized protocols is an important step. It is important for monitoring successful molecular therapy in retinal degeneration. Retinitis pigmentosa or achromatopsia and, consequently, affected cones or rods photoreceptors is corresponded to complete absent of electrical response. Thus, detection of even modest improvements after therapeutic treatment is required. Standardized protocols allow the implementation of electroretinography under conditions of optimization of sensitivity and specificity during clinical trials. It should be noted that the literature on retinal diseases demonstrates clinical cases in which patients may have several retinal diseases at the same time. In such cases, it is necessary to detect a group of characteristics of electrophysiological signals with high accuracy to improve the application of various diagnostic solutions. The classification of electroretinogram signals depends on the quality of labeled biomedical information or databases, in addition to this, the accuracy of the classification results obtained depends not only on computer technology, but also on the quality of the input data. To date, the analysis of electroretinogram signals is realized manually and largely depends on the experience of clinicians. The development of automated algorithms for analyzing electroretinogram signals may simplify routine processes and improve the quality of diagnosing eye diseases. This article describes the formation of the parameters of pediatric electroretinogram database parameters for the development of doctor’s decision-making algorithm. The signal parameters were obtained by extracting the parameters from the wavelet scalogram of the electroretinogram signal using digital image processing and machine learning methods.

Responses of Postreceptoral Pathways Elicited by L- and M-Cone Isolating ON- and OFF-Electroretinograms in Glaucoma Patients

Purpose

To compare the electroretinographical (ERG) responses elicited by L- and M-cone isolating ON- and OFF-sawtooth stimuli in normal subjects and glaucoma patients.

Methods

Twenty-one normal subjects and 44 primary open-angle glaucoma patients participated in the study. L- and M-cone isolating (18% cone contrast; 284 cd/m²) rapid ON- and rapid OFF-sawtooth (4 Hz) stimuli with two stimulus sizes (full-field (FF) and central 70° diameter) were generated using the triple silent substitution technique. ON- and OFF-response asymmetries were studied by adding the two (to obtain L-add and M-add responses). The initial positive (P) and subsequent late negative (LN) components of the L-add and M-add ERGs were compared between the subject groups and correlated with retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and pattern ERG responses.

Results

The responses to L-ON and to M-OFF stimuli and vice versa resembled each other particularly with 70° stimuli. The P_L-add amplitudes were not significantly different between the normal subjects and glaucoma patients, whereas the LN_L-add amplitude was significantly (P < 0.01) smaller in the glaucoma patients. Both P_M-add and LN_M-add were not significantly different between the subject groups. The PERG amplitude with 0.8° check sizes and the 0.8°/16° amplitude ratio (PERG ratio) were significantly (P < 0.05) different between the subject groups. The 70° LN_L-add amplitude and the 0.8° PERG amplitude were significantly correlated with RNFLT.

Conclusions

The ERGs to 70° cone isolating sawtooth stimuli reflect cone opponency. The cone opponent ERG responses were not significantly different between glaucoma patients and normal subjects. Luminance driven L-add responses were significantly different, indicating that central luminance signals are mainly affected in glaucoma.