Multifocal pupillary light response fields in normal subjects and patients with visual field defects

The optimal conditions for recording focal pupillary light responses with a multifocal stimulation technique were determined, and the technique was applied to normal subjects and patients with visual field defects. Thirty-seven hexagonal stimuli were presented on a TV monitor with a visual field of 40 degrees diameter under a constant background illumination. Using a slow (4.7 Hz) m-sequence, reliable focal responses were obtained in both normal subjects and patients. The pupillary field and visual field were well correlated in patients with retinal diseases, but the correlation was not strong in patients with optic-nerve diseases. Pupillary light responses were reduced in the blind hemifield in patients with post-geniculate lesions. These results indicate that the multifocal stimulation technique can be used clinically to obtain a pupillary field for objective visual field testing.