Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Using the Electroretinogram to Assess Function in the Rodent Retina and the Protective Effects of Remote Limb Ischemic Preconditioning
Published on: June 9, 2015
The brain through the retina: the flash electroretinogram as a tool to investigate psychiatric disorders
Joëlle Lavoie1, Michel Maziade, Marc Hébert
1Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Cervico-Facial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract:
Investigating the living brain remains one of the major obstacles in psychiatry research in order to better understand the biological underpinning of brain disorders. Novel approaches are needed to study brain functions indirectly. Since it is part of the central nervous system, retinal functions as measured with the flash electroretinogram (ERG) may reflect the central dysfunctions reported in psychiatric disorders. This review describes the flash ERG anomalies reported in patients with psychiatric disorders such as seasonal affective disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and drug addiction and discusses how changes in retinal functions might be used as biomarkers for psychiatric disorder as well as a potential aid to diagnosis in psychiatry.
Related Concept Videos
The Retina
Anatomy of the Eyeball

