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Relationship among fMRI, contrast sensitivity and visual acuity.

L E Leguire¹, A Algaze, N H Kashou

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.

|November 2, 2010

Summary

Contrast sensitivity function (CSF) correlates more strongly with visual cortex activity than visual acuity. This suggests CSF better reflects underlying visual cortical function in both normal and amblyopic individuals.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Medical Imaging

Background:

Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity function (CSF) are key measures of visual performance.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assesses brain activity, offering insights into visual cortical function.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if visual acuity or CSF is proportional to visual cortical function measured by fMRI.
To investigate the relationship between fMRI parameters (volume, activation level, Z-score) and visual function metrics.

Main Methods:

Monocular log minimal angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity and CSF were measured using forced-choice procedures.
CSF data were aggregated into a weighted mean contrast sensitivity (WMCS) index.
fMRI data were acquired using a 1.5 T GE Signa scanner with visual stimuli (1.0 and 2.0 c/deg gratings).

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Main Results:

No significant correlation was found between fMRI parameters and visual acuity in normal subjects.
Significant correlations were observed between WMCS and fMRI volume (R=0.765) and activation level (R=0.645) for right eye stimulation (1.0 c/deg grating).
These correlations remained significant when controlling for age and including amblyopic subjects, indicating WMCS is more closely associated with fMRI measures than visual acuity.

Conclusions:

Contrast sensitivity function (CSF), as measured by WMCS, is more closely associated with fMRI volume and activation levels than visual acuity.
The findings suggest that CSF reflects the activity of underlying visual cortical cells more accurately than visual acuity.
fMRI parameters are better indicators of visual cortical function when correlated with CSF compared to visual acuity.