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Delayed luminance and chromatic contrast sensitivity in infants with spontaneously regressed retinopathy of
Rain G Bosworth1, Shira L Robbins, David B Granet
1Department of Psychology, 0109, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA. rbosworth@ucsd.edu
Insights
Preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) show temporary visual pathway impairments. Contrast sensitivity deficits in the magnocellular pathway were observed in early infancy but resolved by 6 months.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Pediatric Vision
Background:
- Investigated visual function in preterm infants with regressed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
- Assessed contrast sensitivity (CS) using luminance and chromatic stimuli.
- Examined pathways mediated by magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) visual systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if contrast sensitivity is affected in preterm infants with a history of ROP.
- To compare visual pathway function between infants with and without ROP history.
- To analyze the impact of ROP on M and P pathway development.
Main Methods:
- Contrast sensitivity measured via forced-choice preferential looking in 21 ROP infants and 41 controls.
- Testing conducted between 8 and 47 weeks postterm.
- Stimuli included chromatic and luminance drifting sinusoidal gratings.
Main Results:
- Infants with ROP history exhibited significantly worse CS between 8-25 weeks postterm.
- A trend suggested greater impairment in luminance (M pathway) than chromatic (P pathway) CS.
- These CS deficits were not apparent in infants aged 26-47 weeks.
Conclusions:
- Early visual maturation of the M pathway is vulnerable to insults like ROP.
- The P pathway appears less affected by ROP compared to the M pathway.
- Findings support differential vulnerability of subcortical visual pathways to early life events.
Background:
The current study assessed whether contrast sensitivity is affected in preterm infants with a history of spontaneously regressed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, Stages 1-3). Specifically, we employed luminance (light/dark) and chromatic (red/green) stimuli, which are mediated by the magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) subcortical pathways, respectively.
Methods:
Contrast sensitivity (CS) was measured using forced-choice preferential looking testing in 21 infants with a history of ROP and 41 control preterm infants who were born prematurely but did not develop ROP, tested between 8 and 47 weeks (2-11 months) postterm age. Infants were presented with chromatic and luminance drifting sinusoidal gratings, which appeared randomly on the left or right side of the monitor in each trial. The contrast of the stimuli varied across trials and was defined in terms of root mean squared cone contrast for long- and medium-wavelength cones.
Results:
Between 8 and 25 weeks postterm, ROP infants had significantly worse CS, and there was a trend for greater impairment for luminance than chromatic CS. This delay was not seen at older ages between 26 and 47 weeks postterm.
Conclusions:
These findings are consistent with the concept that early maturation of the M pathway is vulnerable to biological insult, as in the case of ROP, to a greater extent than in the P pathway.
