Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
Published on: May 12, 2019
Electrophysiological Evidences of Visual Field Alterations in Children Exposed to Vigabatrin Early in Life
Noémie Hébert-Lalonde1, Lionel Carmant2, Philippe Major2
1Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Research Center, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Insights
Children exposed to vigabatrin showed impaired peripheral vision processing, even years after treatment. Central visual processing was also affected in all epilepsy groups, with vigabatrin-exposed children experiencing more severe effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Epilepsy affects children, with early treatment potentially impacting neurodevelopment.
- Vigabatrin is an antiepileptic drug used in infants, with known potential side effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess central and peripheral visual field processing in children with epilepsy exposed to vigabatrin during infancy.
- To compare visual processing in vigabatrin-exposed children with those exposed to other antiepileptic drugs and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized steady-state visual evoked potentials and pattern electroretinograms.
- Recorded ocular and cortical responses to specific visual stimuli in three groups of children.
- Stimuli varied in size, contrast, and flicker frequency for central and peripheral assessment.
Main Results:
- Peripheral retinal responses were significantly reduced in vigabatrin-exposed children, particularly at high contrast.
- Peripheral response reduction correlated negatively with vigabatrin exposure duration.
- Central cortical processing was impaired in both epilepsy groups, more so in the vigabatrin-exposed group.
Conclusions:
- Vigabatrin exposure in infancy can lead to long-term, asymptomatic visual toxicity affecting peripheral retinal processing.
- Central cortical visual processing is impaired in children with epilepsy, with vigabatrin exacerbating these deficits.
- Visual toxicity may persist years after vigabatrin discontinuation, highlighting the need for long-term monitoring.
Background:
We assessed central and peripheral visual field processing in children with epilepsy who were exposed to vigabatrin during infancy.
Methods:
Steady-state visual evoked potentials and pattern electroretinograms to field-specific radial checkerboards flickering at two cycle frequencies (7.5 and 6 Hz for central and peripheral stimulations, respectively) were recorded from Oz and at the eye in seven school-age children (10.1 ± 3.5 years) exposed to vigabatrin early in life, compared with children early exposed to other antiepileptic drugs (n = 9) and healthy children (n = 8). The stimulation was made of two concentric circles (0 to 5 and 30 to 60 degrees of angle) and presented at four contrast levels (96%, 64%, 32%, and 16%).
Results:
Ocular responses were similar in all groups for central but not for the peripheral stimulations, which were significantly lower in the vigabatrin-exposed group at high contrast level. This peripheral retinal response was negatively correlated to vigabatrin exposure duration. Cortical responses to central stimulations, including contrast response functions in the children with epilepsy in both groups, were lower than those in normally developing children.
Conclusions:
Alteration of ocular processing was found only in the vigabatrin-exposed children. Central cortical processing, however, was impaired in both epileptic groups, with more pronounced effects in vigabatrin-exposed children. Our study suggests that asymptomatic long-term visual toxicity may still be present at school age, even several years after discontinuation of drug therapy.
