[Electrophysiological diagnosis in partial optic nerve atrophy syndrome]

Vision conduction routes were examined in 75 patients with the syndrome of optic nerve partial atrophy by recording the visual evoked potentials, threshold of electric sensitivity emergence, critical frequency of phosphene disappearance, electroretino- and electroneurograms. The findings of these examinations correlated best of all with the clinical picture when visual evoked potentials (latency increase, decrease of the amplitude with atrophy augmentation, interhemispheric asymmetry in chiasmal and retro-chiasmal involvement) or the critical frequency of phosphene disappearance (reliably reduced if a disease was developing) were recorded. Introduction of electrodes with therapeutic and diagnostic purpose permitted assessment of optic nerve function from the electroneurogram amplitude and time parameters.